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xoxo-teddybear · 4 years ago

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Oh, The Lies You Tell - Bakugou Katsuki - pt.5

Bakugou x f!reader

Warnings: angst, trauma, abuse, betrayal, fluff, slice of life, smut, cursing, manipulation, possible spoilers, physical harm, 18+

BAKUGOU’S MASTERLIST

Ep. Warnings: cursing, blood, DADZAWA, tiniest bit of angst, Kinda Short Again : P

Summary: Bakugou and Y/N have made up and have gotten much closer. Y/N still isn’t completely sure what they are yet, but that thought will have to be put on the back burner since Shigaraki has a job for her. But what happens on that job is what makes this part interesting.

Pt.1 Pt.2 Pt.3 Pt.4 Pt.5 Pt.6 Pt.7 Pt.8 Pt.9

All day, you and Bakugou were together. Talking, laughing, just doing whatever. Almost like a couple. Quick kisses here and there and long hugs quite often. It even got to the point where they were constantly cuddling. Mind you, this all happened in just a day. Speaking of which, at the end of it, Bakugou went back to Y/N’s room and they fell asleep together.

*Beep* *beep* *beep* *click!*

You woke up to the glorious sun, shining it’s golden rays through your dorm window. It’s 6:00. Time to get ready for school. As you looked around in a strangely peaceful atmosphere, you found the reason why. Right next to you, layed a sleeping Katsuki.

You smiled at his peaceful state and took a moment to admire all of him. Bakugou chose to not sleep with a shirt due to his quirk, which gave you the benefit of laying eyes on someone who was truly built by the gods. His chiseled chest glowed under the solar rays and his abs were covered in scars from his past adventures as a UA student. Your eyes traveled to his face, where porcelain skin lay. His ruby eyes shut, as his long lashes curtain them. Your hands automatically went to his head, running your fingers through his surprisingly soft spiky hair. You giggled as you noticed it refused to lay calm, much like Bakugou himself. To your surprise, his deep morning voice spoke up.

“Can we just stay like this forever?” He smiled in his drowsy state. You jumped at his voice as he chuckled at your jittery behavior. Your hand had left his hair, much to Bakugou’s dismay, and so he brought it back to where it previously was. “I never said stop, princess.” He said as he attempted to drift off back to sleep.

“Heh, well I didn’t ask if you did. You gonna keep sleeping or you gonna get up and get ready for school?” You teasingly asked.

“You gonna keep petting my head?” Bakugou asked with his eyes still closed and a slight smile.

“No.”

“Then no,” he said as he woke up with a scowl and grumpy eyes. He sat up from his previous position and stretched his arms as he watched you get up and walk to your dresser. You grabbed your rebellious uniform before walking back to Katsuki.

“See you soon, okay?” You said and pecked his pouted lips. He replied with closed eyes, a smile, and a simple “mhm” as he got up and left to his dorm.

As Bakugou walked to his dorm, he tried to savor the feeling of your plush lips on his. He smiled at the recent memory. He walked back into his dorm and got ready, excited because he knew once he was done, he would get to see you again. As Bakugou finished and left, he walked to your dorm and found you and Rumor shutting the door, ready to go. He walked to your side and held onto your waist.

“Ready to go?”

“Mhm!”

You both walked and talked until you reached class, as you opened the door and walked in, everyone saw you and cooed.

“Ouuu~ whats this Bakugou?” Sero asked in a playful manner. Bakugou just rolled his eyes but continued to hold onto you.

“Is she your girllllfriendddd?” Kaminari teased. The whole class giggled at the cute little POSSIBLE couple. It was adorable. Who would’ve guessed the ruthless and “dedicated to being number 1 only” Bakugou would have fallen for someone. They continued to laugh until Bakugou spoke.

“Maybe she is, morons. Is there a problem if she is?” He asked with piercing eyes, causing the group to shut up. “Good.” He said as he sat down in his seat and placing you in his lap. You guys had a couple minutes before class started so it would work out just fine.

As the group continued to talk, a deep voice was heard throughout the room.

“Are you going to continue holding my daughter hostage in your lap, Bakugou? Or are you gonna let her take her seat?” The group looked towards the door and saw their teacher, Mr. Aizawa, standing in the doorway. Everyone, besides Bakugou, Y/N, Kaminari, and Kirishima, gasped at the revelation of Y/N being Aizawa’s daughter.

Bakugou sighed as he let you go to his seat, which was right next to him, and looked towards his teacher. “Happy?”

“Very.” Aizawa replied.

“You know, for the record, you aren’t my real dad.” Y/N clarified.

“Correct, but I adopted you. Which legally makes you my daughter. So listen to your dad and hush!” He said with glowing red eyes which made you quiet down with a huff. You placed your head in your hand as you blew a strand of hair out of your face.

‘He’s probably gonna mention the competition tomorrow,” you thought to yourself.

“Alright class, to begin let me tell you about a battle competition we’ll be having next week.” He said.

‘Next week?’ You were confused. What happened to tomorrow? This would throw off the league’s plans, which surprisingly, you were kind of okay with.

“It was supposed to be tomorrow, but we caught word of a few villains figuring out about the event so the school rescheduled it to a different time at a different location,” Mr. Aizawa began, “the competition will be a battle of schools. Class 1-A and B will be attending. Each class will be its own team. You guys will do something similar to a race but depending on the routes and turns you take, you will end up facing a challenge or fighting an opponent aka a different school’s class. The race is over when a class gets to the finish line and rings a bell. Winners get a week off from all work.” He explained.

The class cheered in excitement at the event coming up and spoke amongst themselves about how they would prepare. You, however, were in minor distraught.

‘Villains? The only villains that could’ve know were the league. Did one of them slip up?’ You thought.

Mr. Aizawa refocused the class and began the lesson. Blah, blah, blah, quirks, blah, blah, blah, law, blah, blah, blah, heroes. The usual. Except this time, you payed a little attention. Hero work did interest you but there was no way it was possible for you. You were already in too deep with villainy, so you just sat in self pity as you listened to the lecture.

At the end of the class, Aizawa pulled you aside to talk. He said he had a few things he wanted to ask you.

“Y/N..” he said.

“Eraser-Head..” you replied. He rolled his eyes at the name.

“It’s Mr. Aizawa, or Aizawa sensei, or even dad!” He complained but this time you rolled your eyes.

“Alright then, DAD, what do you want?” You asked.

“I just want to know what’s going on with you and Bakugou. You’ve gotten awfully close. Kissing in the kitchen, sitting on his lap. Are you dating that boy or what?” He questioned you, and to be honest, you couldn’t really answer. What exactly was your relationship with Bakugou? You weren’t dating, that wasn’t established, but you guys weren’t just friends. This was all so confusing. Still, you couldn’t give the man a straightforward answer.

“Even if I was, it’s none of your concern.” You said with a puffed chest and total confidence.

“It is my concern as your now father.” He said. “I just want to know. I’ve seen some improvements since you came here.....I’m proud of you.”

This shocked you. It threw you off and your body basically deflated from its once confident state. He was proud of you. Words you’ve longed to hear from somebody..anybody, and you finally got to hear it. It almost made you tear up but you had to stay composed.

“Proud of me? For what?” You asked with a little sass and attitude. Gotta keep up your bad girl rep, you know?

“Proud of you for choosing to come here in general. You made a good choice. You’ve benefitted yourself in all the right ways. You’re going down a path of greatness, I can see it. I’m also proud of the friends you’ve made and how open and social you’ve become. It makes me glad knowing that you’re coming out of that dark spot you were stuck in for so long. And it seems that having Bakugou around really helps.” He explained.

The whole thing almost brought you to tears. A father figure was proud of you. He knows your past and who you are and he was proud of you. It’s like a dream come true. You were so stunned, you could barely speak.

“Yeah...Umm..thanks.” You began. “Well! If that’s all..I have to get to lunch. I’ll see you around,” you said as you blinked away the tears gathering in your eyes and began to walk to the door.

“Y/N...if you’re ever struggling, you can come talk to me about anything. I’m your teacher and dad now, so I’m always here to help.” He offered. You looked back at him with a kind face before speaking.

“Thank you..”

‘...Dad,’ you thought to yourself as you let out a small smile and walked to the cafeteria.

——————————————————————————

The day went on as usual and when school and training was finally over, you and Bakugou got to spend more time together! You don’t know what it was but being around each other just made each other feel more..complete.

After school, you guys took a fly around the city on Rumor, stopped for some ice cream, and went to play with puppies at the local shelter. By the time you guys got back, dinner was being prepped in the kitchen, so you guys had some time to kill. You both decided it was cool to just hang out in your room.

“Hey, I’m gonna change real quick and I’ll meet you there, okay?” Bakugou said, pointing to the area of his dorm.

“No problem!” You said as Bakugou leaned down and pecked your lips before leaving. You smiled as he walked away and looked towards Rumor who had to be giving you some type of smirk. “Shut up,”

When you both walked in to the room, you changed out of your school uniform and opted for something more comfy. Before you sat down in bed, your earring went off. The league was calling.

“Y/N!...Can you hear me?!” Shigaraki said through the communication device. You ran to it in fear of displeasing your superior if you took too long.

“Right here. What happened?! What villain got caught speaking about the competition???” You asked in shock.

“It was Twice. Idiot can’t keep his mouth shut.” Shigaraki said as you heard Twice’s voice in the background saying it was an accident.

“Look, it doesn’t matter, because the events been cancel due to concern.” You explained.

“ARGHH, figures!” Shigaraki screamed, “look, I’m just here because I have a quick job for you. The others are out setting up our next attack so you’re the only one available.” He said.

“But- but I have something to do right now,” you said, hoping you wouldn’t have to go.

“Well drop it. You’re not getting out of this one. Besides, it’s simple. Get in and get out.” He said.

“..alright,” you didn’t know why. It wasn’t like this was your first job, but it made you want to cry.

“Good. All you have to do is get into heartfilia manner. Boss man, Jude Heartfilia, hired the league for a job offering big banks. He never payed up. All we want is revenge and you’re our best stealth fighter. So get in, kill the man, and get out. Oh! And grab his checkbook too, it’s signed off with his name already. Sounds like easy money. Okay?” He explained.

Kill. Kill. It wouldn’t be your first time. Heck, it wouldn’t even be your 100th time, but the thought of doing it again made you nauseous. However, denying a request from Shigaraki made you even more nauseous. You feared him. You didn’t know just how powerful you were so in your mind, you were the weakest link in the league. So with that in your head, you answered. “Okay.”

You looked towards Rumor in sadness. He seemed to have known what was about to transpire.

“Go get ready, Rumor. We have a job to do.” You said as you walked towards your closet to pull out your villain costume tucked in the back. What stopped you was your...whatever he was to you, walking in.

“Hey princess, I’m back! Miss me?” He said with open arms, closed eyes, and a cocky face, expecting you to leap into his arms. But nothing came. He opened his eyes and saw you near your wardrobe.

“K-Katsuki! Hey! Umm, I’m sorry, but something came up so I can’t really hang right now.” You explained while closing your dresser and walking towards him.

“Oh? What happened? Do you need some help?” He offered. Ugh, why did he have to care about you so much. It’s making things so much harder.

“Um, no. I’ll be good. I just remembered...Korra wants to speak to me. So..I’ll be heading out to talk to her for whatever she needs.” You lied. You felt so guilty lying right to his face but it had to be done.

“Mind if I joined you?” He asked.

“Um, yeah actually, I kinda do. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that these meetings between mentor and pupil are kinda..private. You know?” You asked. You could feel in your soul how furious Korra was that you were using her name to lie your way out.

“Okay, no problem. I’ll see you later?” He said hopeful. You couldn’t deny him that.

“Of course,” you said while giving him a tight hug and a peck on his cheek. Satisfied, he walked out of the room and off to wherever. You let out a sigh as you shut the door and locked it. “Okay Rumor, let’s go.”

——————————————————————————

Rumor was in giant hawk form as you sat on his back and you both were flying over the estate. You looked down and saw the place covered with security, however, there was a landing on the rooftop with a doorway inside. You had Rumor glide down there in silence and quickly tranformed back into Wolf-dog form mid air as you landed on your feet. You both quickly ran inside but not before knocking out the single guard standing inside.

Inside, you both were very cautious. The halls were surprisingly emptied. Nothing but a guard or maid here and there. When you finally found the master bedroom, you busted in and saw he wasn’t there. You scoped around, checked his private bathroom, and still got nothing.

“Rumor. Go into the closet and find some dirty laundry or something. Track his scent and then come find me.” You ordered and Rumor nodded in confirmation. You went back out into the halls and found his study. You walked in prepared to kill and get you still saw no one.

‘Where the hell is everyone?’ You thought to yourself.

You saw scattered papers laying on his desk as you approached the laying furniture. He must’ve been in a hurry if he left the place so disorganized. That or he’s always been a slob. You scurried through his desk and drawers and found his checkbook.

“Bingo. At least we found one thing.” You placed the check board into your pocket as you continued your search. You read through the papers on his desk and saw he had frantically signed a signature to book a place at the Inko Hotel right in Musutafu. Then your eyes went wide.

“.......He knew!” You said in shock. He knew the league would send an assassin. Right when you said that, Rumor came in and barked. He had his scent. You ran towards Rumor as he transformed into giant wolf form and hopped on him. He began to run not caring about the people he bumped in to. Security obviously noticed you all and began shooting at you. You turned around on Rumor’s back and used your metal bending to stop the bullets and send them back, killing others in the process. You cringed behind your mask at the sight but kept a strong facade as Rumor finally made it out. You jumped into the air giving him enough time to turn in a giant hawk again and fly off, picking you up mid-air along the way. You both flew off as fast as you could to the hotel where Rumor’s nose was taking you.

Once you arrived you entered the hotel through a back way entrance. You realized you would have to fit in so off came your black cloak and mask. You walked around in your villain costume that thankfully no one was suspicious of and followed Rumor’s nose. He sniffed the floor and followed Jude’s scent until he reached door 402. You noticed a guard standing by and so you used your charm to seduce the man. While he was distracted by the flirt, you surprisingly used your dim mak and paralyzed him from the neck down. You knocked him out and dragged him to a storage closet and returned to the room. You busted open the door and saw Jude laying there in his sleep. You shut the door and locked it. In case he woke up, you put your cloak and mask back on as you approached his unknowing body.

‘He looks so.....peaceful.’ You thought while watching him. ‘But I have to do my job...no matter how cruel,’ you reminded yourself. You reluctantly and shakenly used your air bending to create a sphere of wind around the man’s head. While maneuvering your hands you took his breath away, depriving him of oxygen and killing him in the process. You just killed a peaceful man in his sleep. As you came to that realization, you released a breathy sigh as you put your hands together to pray for him and allow his spirit to leave the world in respect.

Once you opened your eyes again, you noticed tears pricking at the ends. You hated this part of the job. Stealing and grifting was easy. But murder? That was a whole ‘nother level that made you want to scream. As you walked off with your head handing low, you left the building in a sadly successful job. On the journey back to UA, you called Shigaraki through the earring and told him of your mission results. He congratulated you on a job well done and asked for you to return the checkbook when they would later attack UA. Your face grew sour at the reminder that you’re all here just to create misery. What a pity.

You had noticed Rumor had gotten generously tired and so you opted to just walk instead of fly home. It wasn’t that bad and you needed to clear your head anyway. After walking for some time, you were close to the dorms but as you took a turn, you of course ran into....... Bakugou?!

Due to a quick reaction, Rumor had shrunk to a mouse and you were so thankful you wore your cloak and mask....YOU WORE YOUR CLOAK AND MASK!

“Woah! Hey! Watch we’re you’re-“ he cut himself off as he noticed your attire. He recognized you instantly. “You’re...Titania!”

Thankfully he wasn’t aware of who was under the mask. You picked up Rumor dashed off before anything else happened. But Bakugou being the hero he is, he chased after you.

“Hey! Get back here!” He said using his explosions to blast himself further and give him some speed. However, you had a few tricks yourself. You used your air bending and applied it to help with your running and give you a boost.

As the chase went on, you zig-zagged through alleyways and over city obstacles like trash cans and such. Bakugou was right on your tail...or so you thought. As you turned back to see if he was still behind, you saw nobody, and in the heat of the moment, you let your guard down. You allowed yourself to stop and just breath as you layed against a brick wall in the shadows but to your surprise Bakugou had tackled you to the ground from the side. Now he had you pinned down as he huffed closed to your face.

“You damn villain scum“ those words made you cringe behind your mask. He was right. Villain scum is what you are, but those words coming from Bakugou just made your heart hurt. “What the hell are you doing out here?!”

When he asked that questioned, you remained silent. He grunted as his eyes squinted in frustration. “Tell me!” He demanded.

As your head got back in the game, you kicked his groin and used some wind to push him back. Throwing him behind a pile of trash cans, you quickly used your fire bending to blast you into the air as Bakugou’s sight was blocked. You threw Rumor’s mouse form into the air as he transformed into a giant hawk and you both escaped before Bakugou looked back up to look for you. You successfully got away.

—

When you returned, you had Rumor go back to his mouse form to sneak into the dorms. You waited by the side as Rumor went to retrieve some clothes for you to change into on the side of the building. When he returned, you changed under your cloak and then hid it as you walked in with Rumor. You passed a few students but none seem to be suspicious of anything. You made it to your room and sighed in relief as you layed down but then, Bakugou of course barged in.

“You’re never gonna guess what the fuck just happened, Princess.” Bakugou said as he threw off his jacket and flopped on top of you. You let out a ‘Oof,’ and giggle as you began to pet his head. Yes, you felt guilty for what you did and were about to do but you had to. Right?

“What happened, Suki?” You confidently said. Bakugou slightly flinched as he looked up to you with a slight blush.

“Suki?” He questioned.

“Mhm! My new name for you. Cute right?” You happily said.

“M-mhm,” he said as he tucked his head away in your chest and blushed even more.

“So tell me what happened.” You said. He sighed before speaking almost as if he was frustrated.

“I was out walking after stopping by my parent’s place to drop something off and I ran into..Titania.” He explained.

“Titania?” You played dumb, “that top ranking villain?”

“Not just any top ranking villain. She’s the top and most wanted female villain out there. She’s bad news and I chased her down. Of course she got away though, can’t believe I thought I could take her down. Her skill level is insane. She’s had to have been fighting since she was probably our age or even younger.” He went on.

“You know her age?” You said with a slight panic. You didn’t want Titania’s anything to be revealed.

“With her skills, I’d bet she’s at least in her late 20s.” You were slightly flattered by the fact that Bakugou thinks you’re that powerful, but of course he didn’t know it was you. That was kind of disappointing though, he didn’t know who you truly were. Then you thought back to what he said. Villain Scum. If that’s what he thought Titania was, then when he found out who she really was, he would definitely have a thing or two to say about you. You saddened at that thought but wanted to change the topic after becoming slightly uncomfortable with the “news.”

“Don’t let it get to you. We are still hero trainees after all. We can only do so much. C’mon, let’s watch a movie and cuddle instead.” You offered to which he happily agreed. And so you both sat and just enjoyed each other’s presence and the movie. You were seated in Bakugou’s lap as you both sat on your bed just living in the moment. Bakugou would pepper you in kisses every now and then to which you laughed and happily accepted.

You loved the time you got to spend with Bakugou. It felt right whenever he was around. Your life was a hot mess but then he came and became your little getaway. He was a breath of fresh air to you and everything about him just made you smile. His presence made you happy, his smile made you swoon, his touch had you melting and his kisses were just...amazing. You guys weren’t an official couple, but you were something. And although it was confusing, that something was enough to fill your heart with all the warmth and love that you’ve been missing for the past 16 years of your life. The only question was...how long was it going to last before it all came crushing down?

*sorry for any spelling mistakes, this was quick and delayed*

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snowflake-of-destruction · 4 years ago

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let's hear about FFVIII seifer, if you're still doing this XD

Why I like them: You know my tastes. A green-eyed man is introduced throwing fireballs around, is kind of a condescending jerk but in a fun way, instigates deep conversations on high ground while staring at the sunset...Well, before we even get to villainy, immolation, and redemption arc, I start going “Is this a favorite character?” I’m joking...kind of. Some of that does factor in, even the fire.

Okay, so my favorite thing about Seifer’s arc is that, in the limited focus he’s given, he’s complex and layered from the beginning, and his villain arc is a clear and fascinating illustration of “No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks” ….with a side of brainwashing.

Let’s break this down:

What are some of the words used to describe him by those that know him (by himself, by Squall, by Fuu and Rai)? Romantic. Idealistic. Sensitive. He is the one who believes in making a difference in the world--not just as a wish or goal, but as an imperative to do what your heart says is right even if it’s going to cost you--where Squall is just follow-the-orders-and-do-the-job. If you’re already reading this and objecting, I’m not saying Squall doesn’t care...obviously he does, defrosting Mr. Go Talk to a Wall and getting him to a place where he admits how many layers of mask he wears is his character development...but Seifer isn’t just a hothead. He wears his heart on his sleeve.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not trying to deny that Seifer can be an abrasive, self-serving, hypocritical jackass sometimes, who can fight dirty, wants to “wreak some havoc,” and has a history as a bully--though, gentlefolk of the jury, I submit to the courts that he puts on a tough act like Squall does and they are both different flavors of trying to mimic toxic alpha male--but let’s not forget that some of his establishing character moments are throwing out his future to disobey orders because he sees that the higher-ups have possibly misjudged the situation and civilians could be in danger, and, again, going AWOL because he thinks Squall and Rinoa could be killed. And he calls himself the white knight and holds up a code of honor until the end, even though it gets twisted. He is about duty and honor, with honor even over duty.

Oh, this was only going to be the beginning. I haven’t even begun to touch on what I would want to touch on--this is just surface personality and the beginning of the game before we even get to joining Sorceress Edea, and even then not all I would say-- but this post isn’t actually supposed to be my Ted talk on what you missed if you just think of Seifer as a recurring boss fight. Let’s move on.

ONE MORE THING ACTUALLY. Even though we see a lot of Seifer at his worst, you can use Fujin and Raijin as a mirror. What do they say near the end of the game if we paraphrase/summarize? They knew pretty early on, before even the senseless slaughter and torture era that Seifer was going down a dark path with the sorceress, but they knew it wasn’t him and stayed with him, not because they agreed with his actions, wanted power, or out of fear, but to take care of him and try to break through to him--and not because they are saints, but because he, despite what had happened in the past year, is the type of person who deserves and inspires that kind of loyalty. Let’s think on that.

Now the rest goes under a read more, because I am going to keep rambling and be wordy

Why I don’t: He can be an asshole, and he’s an asshole in an embarrassing way. As in, if one is trying to say he’s not the little punk his KH counterpart is, you remember he still uses the insult chickenwuss (though that is a legacy insult/nickname since he’s known Zell since childhood--and, fyi, Squall uses it too) and he had a little gang in school. Even once he’s a military commander of an evil army set on world domination, he has some moments where his level of petty undermines him.

Favorite episode (scene if movie): The Dollet mission

Favorite line: Sorry, not sorry that the following is my favorite exchange of lines and that the prison torture scene is another of my favorite scenes. For context, Seifer has captured Squall, has him hanging up on the wall in crucified hero imagery, implied to be shirtless even though his character model isn’t because they talk about scar tissue or lack thereof from a recent shoulder injury/Squall being stabbed in the chest/shoulder area. Seifer has been electrocuting Squall for information. By this point, I might as well have put the whole scene here. Also, I am now going to blame Squall and Seifer text boxes in FFVIII for my own abuses of ellipses...

Seifer: " I was hoping you'd be there, Squall. So... how'd I look in my moment of triumph? My childhood dream, fulfilled. I've become the sorceress' knight."

Squall: [internal monologue] ...Sorceress' knight... ...His...romantic dream...? But... Seifer... Now, you're just a…[Out loud] "... torturer."

[Squall passes out.]

Seifer: "What did you say? [Steps closer] Passed out cold, eh? This is the scene where you swear your undying hatred for me! The tale of the evil mercenary versus the sorceress' knight!”

This isn’t just me all “mmm, tension.” Seifer has passed the moral event horizon, and it’s not just faceless NPCs that are collateral damage anymore. We’ve seen him on screen torture the protagonist, who is also one of the only people who he’s shown to have a real bond with that goes beyond superficial. Then we get this and see Seifer thinks he’s the good guy still, on a noble mission where he’s had to make painful sacrifices, and Squall is a representative of the power-hungry evil. Seifer’s been playing a different game, and had his will twisted via magic.

Favorite outfit: The Amano art where the white coat is cast off and he’s wearing the simple black shirt and black jeans under it. Symbolic? Maybe. I wouldn’t give up the coat though. I love the long white/gray coat, the outer embodiment of wanting to wear the white hat, but the desire easily getting tarnished, and the red cross that turns into a sword and becomes Seifer’s symbol and soon to appear other places, emblazoned nice and big on the sleeve. It’s the Cross of Saint James. TRADITIONALLY red represents the blood of Christ, the three lilies represent the honor of the apostle and reference Christ as lily of the valley, and the sword shape represents the torture that St.James suffered before his murder. HOWEVER, my opinion is that here it’s more vague/altered symbolism (For starters, there are other gods not the Christian God in this world) with a side of “looks cool.” We still have something that clearly calls to mind a mission from on high, innocence in the lilies, blood and blood cost, and then war/violence with the sword. And I love it.

OTP: Seifer/Squall. I should not even start, but lest you think I am just in it for kinky torture scenes: We have these two who, in the beginning, are generally callous or mocking toward everyone, but make each other laugh/smile, see who each other are underneath and describe each other in “soft” terms even if they tease each other for it, repeatedly check in on each other to see if the other is okay, respect each other’s opinion and skills, and...you get the idea. In the words of Zell Dincht, I thought you two were rivals, but you’re all buddy-buddy.

Pause for a second and let’s just say first impression. That opening fight where they scar each other’s faces? It takes place outside Balamb Garden and the area is shown so we see they are alone. Squall passes out. Squall wakes up in the infirmary within the Garden base. Squall has to explain what happened; people don’t already know. This kind of implies after Squall passed out, Seifer, bleeding from a head wound himself, picked Squall up and carried him home, allowing himself to collapse only when Squall was being safely tended to, because he’s that extra. This is his first (okay, second, after fireballs and face slashing) action in the game even though it’s offscreen. I mean, he could have also just called for help/ran for help, but that’s less fun.

Seifer is so concerned with being a badass, but he’s admits to Squall all he’s ever wanted was to be the fairytale knight, not a mere soldier. Vulnerability and confession he wants romance....with the first time it’s brought up in game being while they are watching the sun set together, the traditional Square Red Sunset of Shipping.

Seifer hesitates to defy orders, not for himself, but until he sees Squall is with him. Even though there were other “children of destiny” who all came from the same orphanage, Squall and Seifer were the ones who were never apart, never adopted until it was by a military/mercenary training program, and, even though it may speak more to brotherly than romantic from some angles, there’s a feeling of being the same, knowing each other down to the atoms, adopting an us against the world mindset that trumps trying to best each other when it comes down to it because they are the only constant. When Squall has his breakdown/ breakthrough of why he pushes people away/doesn’t let himself care/tries not to need anyone because people leave/are taken from him and he is scared he isn’t worthy of love and happiness until Rinoa challenges him, this may seem like a dismissal of Seifer, but you can also look at it from “I had no friends or family. I didn’t even have interest in speaking to anyone. I strived to be an unfeeling machine, because all emotion is pain...But also I couldn’t go 48 hours without seeing Seifer.”

Yeah, yeah, we know their main form of hanging out was beating the tar out of each other, but sometimes, especially in older media, this was its own brand of subtext. For more on how Seifer miiiight just view sparring let’s point out that “Isn’t this ROMANTIC?” and “Kneel” as a less easily interpreted as innuendo version of “I want you on your knees” are battle quotes even in Kingdom Hearts sooo draw your own conclusion.

We get a line where Squall makes it clear these were friendly matches looked at as pushing their limits beyond what they are allowed to in sanctioned spars, and he feels prepared to take on anything now because of Seifer. Is it healthy communication in real life? No! Is this real life? No! Plus, the facial scar was an accident, pretty clearly...on Seifer’s side...I could write another essay on how Seifer draws first blood, but it’s because on Squall’s failed block, AND THEN SQUALL GETS ANGRY AND RETALIATES WITH CLEAR PURPOSE AND MAKES THE OPENING SHOT INTO THE FIRST SIGN GOOD VERSUS BAD GUY ISN’T SO CLEAR CUT (even though they both shouldn’t have been going so hard in a friendly training match to begin with).

Seifer’s later, repeated threats/expressed desire to give Squall additional scars once he goes evil? That is a different animal, and a horrible one, objectively. Not objectively? No comment. Okay, one comment. Mark you as mine. Two comments. He knows Squall’s lost some memories and he can’t stomach being the next thing forgotten so Squall needs physical reminders.

Hmmm, I was supposed to be talking about the ship, not just the sparring and scars. We can wrap it up with a Marge Simpson. “I just think they’re neat”

BUT ONE MORE THING

Squall’s jacket when he becomes Leon in Kingdom Hearts. His outfit is mostly the same, right? Except the back of the jacket now has a red patch of an emblem (of Rinoa’s angel wings, not Seifer’s cross...for the OT3 feel), and his fight with Sora he throws a fireball like Seifer’s signature. Just, you know, if you want bonus references/feeling.

Brotp: Fuu and Rai. They are willing to commit war crimes with this man, nurse him back from death’s door, and go into exile with him if he can’t return to a normal life even after a redemption arc. This section deserves to be long, but I am beginning to get talked out. Don’t take that as devaluing the friendship though. I’m glad he was allowed to keep his ride or dies in Kingdom Hearts. FRIENDSHIP! They love him, ya know?

Head Canon: What we see of him at the end of the game is a temporary situation and after he heals and refreshes for awhile he’d go back to Balamb and face consequences for his actions, and probably insist on consequences instead of leaning into “an evil sorceress bespelled me and slowly took my free will.” No hiding away in the wilderness. No crossing into and living his life in Esthar. No, “but in the end I broke free and would have been an active, onscreen part of saving the world if Square had let me join the party!” He would insist on being cast into a deep, dark cell. Squall uses pull to get him pardoned, but not before just, flat out, yelling at him for being a martyr.

Unpopular opinion: He did love Rinoa. It may have been a “shallow love,” but he wasn’t just dating her to pass time or because she played into his damsel who needs a hero mindset. There was emotion. He was prepared to die for her and Squall in Timber, and almost did--only being saved by Sorceress Edea...which wasn’t a kindness, but it all worked out in the end. Sure, he gets mind-controlled into using Rinoa as, basically, a human sacrifice and it isn’t Rinoa he wants stripped and brought to his room when we’re taking prisoners, but he cared about her. He does taunt her about their past relationship, but we’ve already established this is just part of his communication skillset. Yes, I will elaborate more if asked, though it’s more feeling based than text based.

A wish: If there’s ever a sequel, let him have put out the good in the world that was his dream and be seen as a hero. Let us see a matured and peaceful Seifer.

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: My one fear if they ever remake FFVIII instead of just porting it, is that some of the creative team have said they like the fan theory where you are dead part way through the game and the rest is a dying dream or purgatory. It’s creative stuff; I will say that. It’s not my favorite, and I don’t agree, but those kinds of fan interpretations when they go in depth are super cool. PLEASE LET THE INTEREST IN IT JUST BE THE SAME AS MINE OF THINKING IT’S CREATIVE BECAUSE MAKING THIS CANON WOULD BE SO, SO BAD FOR EVERY CHARACTER.

5 words to best describe them: stubborn, misguided, paladin, romantic, petty

My nickname for them: I don’t really have one

#seifer almasy #seifer x squall #squall x seifer #such a long post and still not all or even communicated that well probably #you don't have all the facts the facts are i love him #tina-nina

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bunniibones · 4 years ago

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Idk if you still wanna post eggline stuff here anymore, but I'd love to hear some of your boom!eggline au headcanons. That au is honestly making me soften up for this ship again 🥺

I’m still debating about it tbh! actually I’m just waiting for BG #4 to come out before taking the decision, it’ll be based on whatever happens in the issue. In fact, I want to post two drawings before that date kasjdhjka

But I’m completely open to share some Boom!Eggline headcanons <33

.°･ ☆ Starline is always there for him after the failures of each battle.

So whenever Eggman becomes all mopey because of it, Star encourages him to keep going and cheers him up with things that he knows that Eggman likes. If Eggman has injurieds, wounds, burns, etc. after a battle, Starline will add the encouraging words to the curing process, disinfecting the wounds and bandaging them carefully.

Mombot always insists that Starline HAS to finish it kissing it better, but Starline refused because he gets too flustered to do something like that, followed by a “Mooooom!!” from Eggman.

.°･ ☆ Starline, Cubot and Orbot take turns to give Eggman is sponge bath.

While the robots don’t like it that much, Starline is always super eager to do it, he considers it an incredible honor to be able to do something like that to his idol, so whenever it’s his turn, he does everything to make sure that Eggman feels as spoiled as possible, with candles around the bathtub, relaxing music, bubbles and aromatic salts, putting a lot of attention in his task so his boss will be pleased with his job!

.°･ ☆ Eggman doesn’t admit it, but he has grown attached to Starline.

Whenever Starline is not around, Eggman will always call for him, just for Orbot to remind him that he’s not around, making Eggman bummed about it.

If it was Starline that left on his own (Probably after a fight they had), he will say that he’s fine without him anyway, trying to keep going as usual, but soon he realizes that he’s actually lonely and that he misses him, so he becomes so mopey that he won’t even go to the battles or not have energy during them, making the heroes to look for a way to solve the issue so Eggman and Starline can be together again and Eggman won’t be so sad anymore. (And probably Starline is sad and angry around somewhere as well, he’s very attached to Eggman too, but he tends to be a bit too emotional)

In the end, they always get back together in the most cheesy and cliché way, at the best Boom Style.

.°･ ☆ Whenever something lowkey romantic/shippy happens between them, Eggman becomes a flustered mess.

He begins to stutter and act super clumsy, which depending on the context will make Starline laugh (If they are alone) or feel embarrassed (If they are in public).

Starline will get flustered at the shippy situation too, but he just tries to “play it cool” and clear his throat, avoiding eye contact and trying to keep his composure, while inside he’s just screaming like the fanboy he is.

Funnily enough, Sonic always crack a joke about them being too obvious or being a couple, which usually go over Eggman’s head, so he doesn’t catch them, but Starline does and it will make them very flustered.

.°･ ☆ They enjoy Eggman’s relaxing activities together.

At first, when Starline was new, Eggman wouldn’t share his activities with Starline, but after a while and becoming closer to his assistant, he began to invite him to his preferred activities aside from villainy, like baking muffins together, exercising together (Both get tired super quickly), taking sun by the poolside and watching movies/soap operas during the night.

The latter is one that both enjoy the most, gathering tons of snacks and using a blanket during the cold nights. It doesn’t matter what kind of movie it is or if the soap opera is super bad, they both enjoy a lot that moment they spend together.

If by chance Eggman falls asleep in the middle of it (which sometimes happen frequently) Starline will cover him with the blanket, make sure that no one is around and give him a good night kiss in the top of his head before heading to bed.

If Starline is the one falling asleep, (mostly on Eggman’s chest/arm/lap) Eggman will get very very nervous about it, as he’s not used to handle that kind of situation, so he’ll just keep Starline warm until whatever they’re watching ends and he wakes him up so they can go to sleep.

.°･ ☆ Starline helps Eggman to calm down his anger fits.

This one is my personal favorite! Whenever Eggman is throwing a tantrum, Starline will help him to take deep breaths and count so he will calm down.

Sometimes it doesn’t work, which makes Starline sigh a bit frustrated and wait until Eggman calms down by himself. But when it works, Eggman gets all pouty with a scowl, which usually goes away with Starline’s encouraging words.

#I hope you like them <3!!#Boom Eggline AU #staregg #eggline #I'm gonna start tagging it like that #susmccool #skullxcake headcanons

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drshebloggo · 4 years ago

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how to make WW84 a stronger movie

As sort of requested, here’s a beefed-up version of the list of notes I made watching WW84 because I was getting cranky with the execution of this movie and couldn’t help but jot down ideas. I WANTED to love this thing but the script was not selling its ideas to best effect.

For me, I think there were a few challenges inherent in the movie they wanted to make. BUT with a few different choices here and there in the way the story was told, it would’ve improved its impact without sacrificing what they were going for with tone and characters.

CHALLENGE #1: this movie is set SO far in the future from the events of the first film. 65 years have passed, and Diana is still just gliding somberly through her life and that makes me SAD. All her friends are dead! She’s on her own and cursed with immortality!! She lives in an ‘80s decor sadness chamber surrounded by photos and memories of people she’ll never see again!!!

And yet the film gave us no real textual information about that. They did the laziest thing possible, which was pan the camera around a million photos on mantles and told us NOTHING. Literally WHAT has Diana done for the past, say, THIRTY YEARS since her Earth Friends all died without her??? Has she literally made NO OTHER friends? She’s still sad about Steve 65 years later and nothing else has progressed?

This lack of specificity leaves Diana fading in the lead role of her own movie despite the fact that there’s TONS of material there that they just... ignored. For me, she read flat, which bummed me out majorly. Her best stuff was with Steve because that actually MEANS something. But it’s all she’s got in this film. They didn’t bother filling in any other information about her life.

FIX IT: literally just make Barbara already friends with Diana at the beginning. Not only does it make Diana more interesting, it reduces the sheer amount of exposition that the film piles on in the first 45 minutes. This also means you can bring Steve back sooner than the 45 minute mark, which would help grease the wheels in the first third of the movie. And it also means that Diana losing Barbara to inhumanity would actually have a greater impact on Diana beyond “oh my kooky new friend turned into an evil cat; this is vexing.”

CHALLENGE #2: the tone is WILDLY different than the tone of the first. They went from WWI trench warfare to shopping malls and fanny packs. It’s a HUGE tone shift, and it takes some getting used to. But there are good things to it; namely it provides great comedy for Steve, who is a definite bright spot in the movie.

Overall I’m on board with doing a superhero movie that pivots away from grit and darkness and toward camp and comedy, and it’s cool to do something new rather than reiterate the same tone from the first film. But I think they could’ve done more to sell the tone shift.

There are HIJINKS inherent in the premise that I’m guessing were fairly unilaterally unexpected. There’s a vaguely historical magic WISHING STONE and three buffoons each made a wish and turned shit upside down. I myself wish that Maxwell and Barbara and Diana were rendered in triplicate, as equal collaborators in this batshittery. I don’t think you’re watering down Diana’s role as lead (no more than giving her no other emotions to play than sadness) by doing so, and it even works nicely to own the idea that Max and Barbara are on equal narrative ground as Diana.

As far as the villainy goes, Max is more recognizably a Bad Guy, but Barbara is NOT, and it’s fascinating to show at least Diana and Barbara working together but slowly falling apart as shit goes SIDEWAYS. Hijinks can be zany and also meaningful! What if a villain is just a friend who wants something different than you and you have to come to terms with that and stop them from doing dumb shit? There’s an element of screwball to this premise and I wanted them to lean in more. This would also give Diana more to do than cry and fight.

FIX IT: show Barbara getting her powers using the same tropes of other superheroes getting their powers and figuring them out. Play it like she’s Peter Parker finding out she’s Spider-man. Hell, do a montage with all three of them using/abusing their powers: Barbara beating the shit out of things, Maxwell manipulating people, Steve and Diana making the fuck out and enjoying the shit out of it. These are the joys of wish fulfillment!

AND, if they had set up the rules of the artifact beforehand (see Challenge #3), then the audience would know they were watching very happy people who are going to have their LIVES RUINED SOON. And that is good storytelling. (Maybe this is oversimplified, but honestly half of good storytelling is just making the audience feel two opposite emotions at the same time. The other half is dramatic irony, which would also apply to this trio montage.)

CHALLENGE #3: What the hell are the rules of this magic wishing artifact anyways??? The audience should know them before the characters do. The way this movie doled out information was bananas. They waited right before they were going to the tell the audience something to show us what they were about to tell us. Just show us earlier and tell the characters later!!! That way WE’LL already know because we’ve seen it, and THEY’RE not saddled with expositional dialogue to make sure the audience follows the idea.

FIX IT: For the love of humanity, nix the opening sequence with the horse race and make it about the damn stone!! Rip off Lord of the Rings and tell the history of the innocent but dangerous thing. Rip off Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and animate something about how it gives wishes at a cost. Hell, let Connie Nielsen and Robin Wright(’s unbelievably ripped arms) tell young Diana the story so they can still hang out and be a part of the film! Throw in some lore about the gods, just to remind us where Diana comes from and her belief system, and we’re good to go.

While you’re at it, toss in the whole point of the film into the moral that Diana’s moms impart to her at a young age. It’s not a spoiler. We don’t wonder if 1984 Diana will do the right thing. She does not need to LEARN this moral. She already knows the moral, but she still has to make the hard choice to let Steve go and of course it doesn’t come easy.

In summary: that horse race had little to do with the rest of the movie and it’s wasted story space, especially for setting up the entire magical premise that the movie hinges on, let alone the actual message of the film.

CHALLENGE #4: Do we care about Maxwell and his kiddo enough to rest the entire movie’s resolution on it? Ehhhh. The glimpses into young Max’s abuse is another example of showing information RIGHTBEFORE it’s important, rather than setting it up earlier to pay off later. It’s a far weaker choice.

FIX IT: Age up Alistair. If he’s a teen or preeteen, then the stakes feel higher because it seems more monumental to undo the trauma of neglect at that age. Much like in his business pursuits, the clock is ticking and Max is running out of opportunities for success in all realms of his life.

Maybe show Maxwell trying to reason with Alistair earlier in the movie, saying that he’s a good dad because he’s not as bad a dad as his own father. It shows us how he justifies his behavior, gives us the information that he had an abusive dad, and gives an actual interaction between father and son other than “daddy you’re not here” and “shhh son here’s a pony.”

Possible other fix-it which connects to other fixes: what if Barbara actually renounces her wish before Max does? It should be more painful to the audience to lose Barbara to her wish because we’ve technically LIKED her at one point. She means something to Diana, and so she means something to us. Honestly, the audience has rooted for her independent of Diana! The scene where she realizes she’s not powerless against her harasser but then completely loses herself in violence against him? One of the movie’s best. It’s pretty dissatisfying that she just goes completely off the deep end and then nothing with her is resolved after the wishes are broken.

But, with the way the movie is set up, the big emotional climax is the scene of Diana getting through to Max/the entire planet, so it’s hard to undo that and give it to Barbara instead, considering that it won’t wrap up the plot. But geez, do SOMETHING with Barbara that’s based in actual emotions. Don’t hinge your entire movie’s emotional resolve on a father-son relationship that’s two-dimensional and doesn’t have anything to do with the main character! You had emotional investment in Barbara; use it!!

At the very least, have Diana get through to Barbara in some way, either before Maxwell renounces or after, and maybe even intercut it with Max and his kid.

CHALLENGE #5: I experience great existential malaise at watching a mylar balloon drift off into the ether. Was there no better visual for the final moments of the film? Asking for myself, and also the planet. (This one is mostly a joke... but seriously, you guys, the PLANET.)

#ask box #spoilers #uhhhh I should probably keep this out of the tags #I wanted to like this movie a lot #but it came up short for me and it hampered my enjoyment a little bit #so I tried to take note of how it could've been improved with a stronger script #instead of complaining vaguely and dunking on it #WW84 #Wonder Woman

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mangobilorian · 4 years ago

Text

Desert | (mature) iv

Pairing: The Mandalorian x Reader

Words: 6615

read chapters one, two, three

check out my AO3 here

You’re sweating. Which shouldn’t be concerning, but space is cold. The Razor Crest becomes especially cold, the metal walls cool to the touch. You move a bit, and find that you’re trapped under a heavy arm. Mando. With a grunt, you try to wiggle out of his grasp, but he only pulls you tighter to his chest.

“Where are you going?” His voice is… so attractive like this. Deep, raspy, unfiltered.

“You’re heavy,” you say, still trying to free yourself. “Why aren’t you flying? Did we land?” Mando groans.

“Yeah. We’re on Tatooine already.” Oh. That’s why you’re sweating. Of course, the extremely hot bounty hunter contributed most of the heat, but it’s usually not this warm in the Crest.

“How long-” Mando cuts you off by loosening his hold, only to roll over and brace himself on top of you. He supports the majority of his own weight, but your chests still touch.

Mando leans over and presses a kiss to your lips and you reciprocate with fervor. You feel a hand caress your sides, drawing slow circles across your waist.

“You up for another round?” The idea is arousing, but… no.

“I’m too sore,” you pout even though he can’t see. Already, the ache between your legs is noticeable and annoying enough that you don’t want to worsen it. When Mando said that Tatooine wasn’t far, it was an understatement. The trip took about three and a half days. Most of which was spent underneath (and sometimes on top) of Mando, learning about how your bodies worked together and figuring out what you liked. It also meant that while your experience increased tenfold, you were now extremely sore and needed a little break.

Mando sighs disappointedly and kisses you again. It’s comforting to have his body pressed against yours, just kissing slowly and languidly like you’re two people in the galaxy who like each other.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Mando pushes off from you, and gets off the bed. You hear the clang of clothes and metal. You close your eyes again, content to stay on the verge of sleep. With Mando gone, the oppressive heat from before lessens, and you let the relief wash over you. The lulling pull of sleep sings at you, and you’re tempted to accept.

Except the lights in the Razor Crest turn on, and your sleep is shattered. Mando steps into view, his underclothes and helmet on, but nothing else. He stares at you, and you realize that you’re still naked. You fumble to cover yourself—a useless endeavor—when he turns around to give you some privacy.

“I’m heading out soon. Want to come?” What? Mando never asks you to tag along with him, always claiming that it’s too dangerous. And it is dangerous. Tatooine is in Hutt space, and for him to invite you along is suspicious. However, the idea of seeing another planet is alluring. You realize that Tatooine would be the second planet you’ve ever been on, another step into finding out about your brother. And while the odds are slim that you’ll get any clue at all, you have a good feeling about the whole trip.

“I asked because you had cabin fever. Now come on,” he gestures in mock irritation, not waiting for a reply. You smile and reach for some clothes.

*****

Tatooine is a brutal place. Sand gets everywhere—in your hair, your clothes, even in your eyes. You have to pull the top of your shirt over your lips to stop sand from entering your mouth and nose too. For the first time, you envy the Mandalorian. His helmet protects him from the slap of sand that rides the winds. However, wearing all that armor in the heat evens it out. He’s probably baking underneath.

Mos Eisley is both exactly the same and completely different from your home city. The familiar feeling of crime and villainy permeates the air, and there’s a buzzing tension in your bones. Call it nerves or excitement or maybe fear, but you feel different. Like something big is about to happen or the status quo will snap and the galaxy will be upturned. The first time you had this feeling, you received news of your brother’s death. The second time, the Empire collapsed.

Upon arriving at the spaceport, rows of bloody Stormtrooper helmets impaled on sticks greet you. The visceral sight reminds you, for a brief second, that violence and bloodshed are very real in the galaxy, and they’re very real on Tatooine. If you pay attention, you notice the small collars around young women, the scarred faces of old men. Slaves, you realize. Tatooine still had slaves— all Hutt planets did. Of all the planets Mando had to drag you to, did it really have to be this?

You enter a cantina, and Mando ushers you into a booth. He talks to the bartender for a little bit, probably gathering some information. The place reminds you of your parents’ bar, much dirtier and cheaper but the concept stands. If you squint, you can see hands ready on blasters, women whispering in men’s ears. Mando looks like he belongs, his very stance screaming confidence and threat. Everyone parts for him, fear evident in their eyes, and you realize that this is the first time you’ve seen him working. Granted, your first interaction involved spilling information about Ras Drun, but the Mando then is different from the Mando now. At least you think so.

The band plays some jaunty tune, one you haven’t heard since you were young. People chatter about, already drunk despite it being midday. The air smells musty and feels slightly sticky. But right in the midst of it all, you can feel the stringy tension of anticipation.

Mando slides in next to you with a drink in hand. He pushes it over, and you glance at it. It’s some orange drink— bubbly and cold. Hesitantly, you bring the glass to your lips. You try not to cringe, but… it tastes awful. Bitter and salty at the same time. It tasted like something pissed in your mouth. At least it’s cold.

“How much did this even cost?” You sputter, pushing the drink away. Mando chuckles. “Please tell me it wasn’t more than three credits?” Paying any money at all for the drink seems like a bad idea.

“Imperial credits don’t work here. Besides, it’s cold. Enjoy it.” He grabs the glass and sets it directly in front of you. You give him the biggest pout you can muster and take another sip, wincing the whole time. If you ignore the taste, you can enjoy the cooling, refreshing effect. Except the taste can not be ignored, so you were stuck with a piss drink. Despite the atrocious taste, part of you relishes in the fact that Mando bought the drink for you.

“Thank you,” you say, wishing you had shown some gratitude before you insulted his gift. The bounty hunter simply snorts, the sound distorted and tinny, looking away to observe the busy cantina. “What about you? Are you gonna get something?”

“Helmet,” he says, and points at his head. Oh. Right…

Your face grows even hotter, and a traitorous bead of sweat slides down your spine. You laugh off your mistake, and Mando places an arm around your shoulder, helmet tilted away from you. The weight and added heat of his body would be enough for you to complain, but you don’t. You… kind of like it. It feels comfortable to be like this— pressed against the bounty hunter’s side, protected by the most dangerous man in the cantina. He looks so intimidating and strong that it hurts your chest. You decide to pity his enemies; you can’t imagine having to face him on a hunt.

Without any words, you survive another sip of the disgusting drink and press further into Mando. He jolts for a brief second and tightens his grip around you. A flicker of confidence surges through you, and you place a hand on his armor-plated thigh. He tenses under your touch, a small sound of surprise filtering through his helmet.

Emboldened, you drag your hand upwards— to the space above the armor plate where thick fabric is the only thing between you and the bounty hunter. Just as you touch him, Mando shoots out and grabs your hand.

“What are you doing?” You turn your head away from Mando and towards the wall. His fingers still grip your wrist, but he lets go when you don’t respond. Once your hand returns to its initial position, you squeeze gently.

The strong muscle is still tense, and you don’t think anything you do will make him relax. Slowly, you curve your hands inwards, toward the apex of his thighs. You see Mando raise a hand, preparing to stop you, but he doesn’t.

It’s exciting, you think, as you edge closer to the fabric covering Mando’s cock. The idea of touching him, stroking him in a place as public and dirty as a Tatooine cantina should be embarrassing and disturbing. But it’s not. The idea excites you very much, and it probably excites Mando too if his lack of complaint is anything to go by. You wonder what he would do if you slip underneath the table. Would he stop you then? Or would he tangle his gloved fingers in your hair and watch as you graze a tongue over his head and suck his length into your mouth?

For now, you settle with gentle touches. Mando doesn’t move, even when you squeeze a little bit. His cock hardens under your touch, and he drops his arm around your shoulders to nestle around your waist, gloved fingers tracing circles and random shapes.

This feels right, you realize. As dirty as it is—really, you would never entertain the idea of giving Mando a handjob in a crowded cantina— you enjoy the ordeal, the teasing. You apply harder pressure on his cock, not enough to hurt but enough to show that you were eager. It’s a Mando thing, you decide. He’s the reason you’re acting so different from the girl he found a month ago.

You sneak a look at the bounty hunter, fingers already reaching for his zipper. Your hand touches metal, and you’re ready to pull down. But something catches your eye, and you look past Mando. There, sitting in a booth on the opposite side of the cantina, is a man. He’s handsome in a dark, rugged way, probably a local. And he’s staring at you with open recognition, and you shiver despite the heat.

You take your hand away, deciding to look elsewhere and rub your arms for some warmth. Mando jostles around and looks to where you were staring at moments ago. You expect to see the man sitting there and hope his gaze is somewhere else. But he’s gone. As if he was a figment of your imagination.

“What’s wrong?” Mando asks, squeezing your waist. “Everything all right?” You nod, eyes transfixed on the now-empty booth. The drive to pleasure Mando is completely gone now as well as your budding arousal, and you hope he isn’t too put off by being teased. Thankfully, Mando takes your silence and doesn’t push.

Something in your gut tells you to move. Tells you that the anticipation in the air is so close to reaching a conclusion. You take one last sip of the drink and shimmy away from Mando.

“Going to the ‘fresher,” you say, as normally as you can. Mando nods and gestures at the refresher’s direction. He starts to step out of the booth, but you stop him. With careful movements, you manage to squeeze between Mando and the table. After one last look at his helmet, you head to the ‘fresher.

It’s down some dark hallway, illuminated by one flickering light source embedded into the wall. You want to run away and go back to Mando, but you need to figure something out. You need answers.

“I can’t believe you’re here.”

You whip around and see the man from earlier. He’s older than you by a few years probably, but he would still be considered young. Yet he looks like someone who suffered through war and other tragedies. You should be scared, you think. You’re a girl by herself and he’s an older man yet…

“Who are you?” He shakes his head, lips set in a grim line.

“A friend of a friend. I… I never would’ve expected to see you here.” You frown. Who is this man? Scared or not, you’re creeped out by the fact that he knows you.

“What do you mean?” He sighs, and walks forward. You realize that he’s been walking ahead the whole time, and your back almost touches the back wall. He looks dazed, staring in your direction but not exactly at you. “Please. I don’t know who you are.”

Over his shoulder, you see Mando’s looming silhouette. He storms over and grabs the man by the back of his shirt, a blaster pressed to his head.

“Who are you?” Mando growls. The sheer aggression makes you back further into the wall. You have to remind yourself that Mando is not here to hurt you. He’s here for-

“Wait! Mando, don’t-” But the bounty hunter doesn’t listen, and he slams the man into the wall. Before Mando can do anymore harm, the man gasps, forced out of his earlier daze.

“I knew your brother!” He says, and everything stills. The air crackles like static, and the string of anticipation snaps with fervor. At your paralyzed state, Mando releases the man who sags against the wall. “He is- was a good friend of mine. I know who you are because he showed me holos of you. I never thought I’d see you. H-he always talked about you. He loved you very much. He was my best friend,” the man blabbers. The words wash over you. He knew your brother. He knew your brother.

“Were you there? When he died?” The man stops talking and looks at you with a certain kind of heavy sadness.

“Yes,�� he whispers. “I was there when the Empire shot down your brother. He sacrificed many things for the Rebel Alliance.” Your brother… was a rebel? The Empire killed him? No, that’s not possible. He was just a simple pilot who traveled for fun or carried cargo sometimes. He wasn’t a rebel.

But he was, a traitorous voice whispers. And this man knew him.

*****

When the man, Crix Kilis, brought you and Mando to his house, you didn’t expect it to be a farm. A moisture farm actually. The idea boggled you for a bit—you’ve never thought about planets where people had to harvest water from the air. The farm itself is quite small, with architecture you’ve never seen before.

The ride to his farm was uneventful. Mando had glared at Crix when he suggested going to his place and even dragged you aside for a moment.

“You really trust this guy?”

“He knew my brother. Our meeting wasn’t a coincidence.” He grumbled something that you couldn’t hear, but you weren’t really paying attention. Most of your mind was set on the fact that you finally had a clue to your brother’s life. Granted, you weren’t searching very hard. You thought you’d know how to fly and be out of Mandos’s care before you would start searching. And on your first stop, you met Crix. Maybe it’s a coincidence, maybe the galaxy is being weird.

Crix offered for you a ride on his speeder bike, but Mando refused and rented one for the both of you instead. The rebel shrugged and carried on. The trip was spent in silence, Mando driving the speeder right behind Crix. The rational part of your brain told you to be more cautious. But your brain was a little too frazzled to be thinking rationally.

“Here, sit down. You want some tea?” You nod, and Crix rifles through a cabinet. Mando sits next to you, legs spread wide, one arm over your shoulder. He doesn’t look at you, electing to observe the small house instead. As he watches Crix, you watch him. Mando’s been tense since Crix arrived in your life. Of course, he’s a bounty hunter; it’s part of the job to be suspicious. But he keeps touching you, on your shoulders, back, waist. You don’t mind. It feels good to have his attention on you. A small part of you considers that he’s being protective. After all, this is the first time you’ve been off the Crest in weeks, and you suddenly meet your brother’s rebel friend? But no, you’re not important enough to him for him to protect. Right?

Crix sets the tea on the table, and you take a sip. You expected something hot, so when the cold liquid touches your lips, you almost choke.

“What did you do?” Mando growls, and Crix backs up. The hand on you tightens, and you wave the question away.

“It’s fine. I thought the tea would be hot, not cold.” His helmet turns to you then to the drink.

“She’s right. Why have hot drinks on a desert planet?” Mando relents and slowly relaxes his hold, but the tension doesn’t fade all the way. You hear a hiss from outside, and Crix looks up in mild alarm. He gestures for you to relax; it’s just a piece of farming equipment that got loose. He exits the house with a bag of tools in hand.

You and Mando sit quietly, and you sometimes take sips of the cold tea. It’s refreshing and a welcome upgrade from the nasty orange drink in the cantina. Sighing, you lean your head to rest on Mando’s shoulder. Your cheek grazes his pauldron, but the majority of your face nestles into the crook of his neck. He jolts at the contact then reigns you closer. The position is slightly uncomfortable since your head is pressed into his neck. He’s in full armor and wearing heavy fabric and his body heat alone makes you sweat. But he warms you up in another way—in a cheesy, jittery, totally ridiculous way.

“Do you feel… safe here?” You burrow deeper into his embrace.

“Yeah. I had this feeling earlier that something big was gonna happen. And it did.” It’s comforting to have your instincts be right. You don’t know what you’d do if you never got answers for your strange feeling.

“Doesn’t mean it’s a good thing.” You hum in response and trace a gentle circle into the armorless part of Mando’s thigh. If Crix hadn’t been watching, how far would you have gone with Mando in the cantina? Surely, you wouldn’t have actually given him a handjob or blowjob right? The hornier, dirtier part of you disagrees. And Mando, for all his conservative clothes, would enjoy your boldness. Did enjoy your boldness.

“I have to go soon.” You break away from his hold to peer into his visor. “I came here for a bounty.” Right. You forgot you’re on Tatooine because it was Mando’s choice and not because of fate.

“So you want me to go back to the Crest?” He sighs, and you can feel the movement through the armor.

“If you want to, then yes. If you feel safe here, then you can stay too.” You try to reply but he cuts you off. “Look, I don’t like the guy. But if he knows your brother, then you deserve to talk to him.” He turns away from you, but you reach a hand out to stop him.

“Thank you,” you say. “I think I’ll stay then. When will you be back?” He shrugs.

“Once I get the bounty. Tell the guy that I can pay him for his services.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Crix says from the doorway. There’s a strange look on his face, and you realize the position you’re in. You clear your throat and separate a bit, but Mando doesn’t bother to move.

“She’s my best friend’s sister,” he addresses Mando. “And you are here as a guest,” he nods at you. “I’ll be back in a few,” he says heading out the way he came.

“When are you leaving?”

“Now.” Oh. All right.. You both stand up, and you take a moment to register just how big he is. In the dark, you can map out every muscle, every scar, every imperfection through touch alone. But with the searing Tatooine suns, you wonder if you even know him. If you’ll ever know him. That won’t stop your feelings though, however foolish they might be.

You expect him to walk out right away, but he pauses and lays a hand on your shoulder. You want him to hug you. You want him to hold you tight and whisper sweet words in your ear.

But he doesn’t hug you or whisper anything. He simply rubs your shoulder. It should be comforting. Instead, it’s a reminder of how close you can be to him, but he’ll always put himself farther away.

“Stay safe,” you say, wishing one last time for him to hug you. He gives you a single nod, releases your shoulder, and heads out. You watch his back disappear through the door and hear the gentle roar of a speeder. A minute later, Crix enters with his tools.

“Hungry?”

“Yeah,” you say, eyes still trained on the door.

*****

Tatooine has beautiful sunsets. The suns cast a certain glow the neon signs on your home planet could never hope to achieve. Crix sits next to you, hands propping him upright. With an almost empty glass of cold tea in hand (your third cup since arriving), you let yourself relax. You didn’t think that being off the Crest would make a difference, but you definitely feel better. The atmosphere of relaxation does wonders for physical and mental health, after all.

“Tell me about my brother,” you say, breaking the silence. Crix releases a wistful sigh, still staring ahead.

“He was amazing. A pretty darn good pilot too. He was so good that Luke Skywalker complimented him once.” He glances at you, but your lack of response at the name makes him frown. “You don’t know Luke Skywalker?” You shake your head. Why would you? Your planet wasn’t too affected by the Empire, so there was no difference when it fell. What’s one rebel to you?

“Skywalker is the pilot who brought down the first Death Star. He’s actually the best pilot in the rebellion, maybe the galaxy,” he chuckles. “There were also rumors that he was a Jedi.” He whispers the last word, still waiting for some sort of reaction. You give him none.

“Seriously? You don’t know anything?” You shrug.

“This is the first time I’ve ever been off planet. What is a… Jedi?” Crix moves a bit, and settles into a more comfortable position.

“Before the Empire, the Jedi were the peacekeepers of the Republic. The Empire purged all Jedi when it came to power. It’s rumoured that Skywalker is a Jedi because he’s so amazing. The things he does, the things I’ve seen him do… are nothing short of miracles. Even if he’s not a Jedi, it’s poetic. A Jedi restoring the Republic and ending the Empire’s oppression. Now that’s a good campaign,” he smiles softly. Right. Like any of those words meant anything to you. You barely register what he said.

“What do Jedi do exactly?” You ask for the sake of it. In actuality, you want to get away from the off-topic situation and back to your brother, but Crix seems too appalled at your lack of knowledge.

“They can move stuff with their mind, plant suggestions in people’s heads, and use lightsabers.” It sounds like a whole bunch of magic. “At least, that’s what it said in the secret volumes at the Great Library of Alderaan,” he trails off, glancing away from you.

“You’re from Alderaan?” You’d heard the news years ago. The whole tavern had watched the news show Alderaan’s destruction. All channels coming from Alderaan ended, no evidence left behind except for space debris. An entire planet wiped from existence.

“Yeah,” he smiles bitterly. “That’s where I met your brother actually. Seven years ago.” You straighten. “He really was a simple cargo pilot. I was a lousy rebel pilot in disguise. We became friends, and he grew more interested in the Alliance. A month after meeting him, he pledged allegiance to the cause in the backroom of a bar.”

“My brother died seven years ago. You said the Empire killed him.” None of this makes sense. He must have a rebel for longer than that. You remember the news reaching your family. You remember the little slip of paper saying that your brother died.

“No he didn’t.” You also remember that there was never a body. The small hope of him being alive always lingered. If there was no body, there was no proof. You always imagined finding him, happy and whole, living on some nice, temperate planet. Maybe that could still happen. But if Crix is here and your brothers isn’t then-

“So he’s alive?” Crix turns and takes your hand in his. The gentle squeeze tells everything.

“I’m sorry. He died defending Beta Group. He- do you want to know the story?” You nod. Your chest hurt like battery fuel on fire. Your tiny hope crushed before it could grow any further. “We were in the Beta Group under Commander Lajaie. The ships were in the Mako-Ta Space Docks. I remember it like yesterday,” he chuckles without humor. “The ships failed when we tried to enter hyperspace, and Vader arrived with the Death Squadron.” He glances at you, but you look away, staring into the bleeding suns. “The Commander told us to go to the escape pods, but Vader went to attack those first. Your brother, against orders, led enough of Vader’s fighters away from the escape pods. He saved many lives, sacrificing himself in the process.”

“When?”

“Three years ago after the Battle of Yavin.”

Everything stops. The slight wind, the hot sand, everything. You thought he was dead for seven years. You lived with the grief of losing your best friend, your confidant. You cried for so many nights, aching for him back. You had centered so much of your kriffing identity around your brother that-

“He didn’t want to endanger you.” You jerk your head to Crix. “If the Empire knew he was a rebel, they might go after his family too. It’s happened before. Better to pretend that he’s dead than risk your life. I faked my death too.” You don’t understand. The Empire never affected your life very much. Why would your brother even join the rebellion? Why? His life, your life, your parents’ lives: the Empire never mattered as long as you had each other. As if he can see the questions on your face, Crix speaks up.

“He believed in the cause. In the Republic. In democracy.”

“Fuck democracy,” you seethe. He says your name, but you yank your hand away from his. “Your damn democracy is the reason my brother died! Fuck the rebellion, fuck Skywalker, and fuck you. You probably didn’t even care-”

“You don’t know me,” he says calmly. But you don’t listen. You don’t want to listen. “He was my best friend. He was there when I realized the Death Star vaporized my planet,” he continues and you stay quiet, heart still fuming. “I was there when he talked about his family, about you. He loved you. And I loved him,” he says. You freeze and he looks at you with such raw, vulnerable eyes.

“Were you…”

“Yes. We were lovers,” he whispers.

“I’m sorry.”

“Me too.” You try to search for something to say, anything to say. But the words die on your tongue and you reach for his hand. So much grief to process in so little time.

“I was a scholar on Alderaan,” Crix says after minutes of silence. “The Empire destroyed most texts about Jedi but not all. They gave me hope to join the Alliance. I never thought I’d be a pilot. I wanted to help in other ways, but they needed more pilots, even bad ones. I considered dropping out. But your brother convinced me to stay in the same way I convinced him to join.”

“Why Tatooine?”

“I had a feeling. Besides, Luke and his father, Anakin, were from here. If this planet can produce two heroes, why not settle here? Of course, slavery and Hutts aren’t very good, but… I had a feeling. Maybe the Force knew I’d meet you,” he shrugs. After a few beats of silence, he stands up and brushes the sand off his pants, hand still in yours. “Let’s get some food then sleep.”

“Thank you,” you squeeze his hand, “for everything.”

*****

After eating some classic bantha steak for dinner and drinking it down with blue milk (an odd but tasty treat), you settle down on the couch with Crix in front of you on another chair.

You tell Crix about life back home. About your parents working hard to provide for you. How they loved you and cared for you, and you were too blind to see it because all their attention was spent on their business, their employees. Because if you learned anything from staying with Mando, it’s that some people show their affection silently or roughly, but it never detracts from the intent.

You ask Crix if he would like to come to your home planet and meet your parents. He says he’d love to.

Crix tells you all about the adventures he had with your brother. How a simple Alderanian scholar like him became a rebel pilot— the story involved espionage, betrayal, and gambling—or how their first mission together failed. Or even how your brother first reacted to being kissed.

“It was like the concept of a guy kissing another guy was foreign to him,” Crix says.

“We were very sheltered growing up despite owning a… prostitution bar.” He shakes his head in disbelief.

“Sheltered alright. He became a rebel and you’re dating a Mandalorian bounty hunter.”

“We’re not dating.” Crix gives you a sure, yeah sure look. You yawn in response.

You know you should sleep, but the buzzing excitement of questions stops you. Mando said you deserved to talk to Crix, so you will. Besides, conversation with Crix flows easier than a tap of beer. In the same way your brother was your best friend, Crix could be too. If they loved and trusted each other enough to consider marriage after the Empire collapses— a revelation that stings and bites and makes you cry— then you can love and trust Crix too.

Of course, the Empire and Rebel Alliance’s role in your brother’s death still haunts the back of your mind. If he had never joined, he wouldn’t have died. At least, that’s what you tell yourself. The galaxy is too large and too dangerous to ever guarantee someone’s life. In this galaxy, a Queen of Alderaan and her planet were vaporized, and a Tatooine farm boy destroyed the Empire. Crix told you that ‘it was the will of the Force’ but you don’t really believe it.

How could you believe that an order of wizard monks that were purged to almost extinction? But if your brother believed in Luke Skywalker— something that Crix made sure to tell you often—then maybe you could too. Except-

A large part of you feels betrayed. Sure, faking his death was for your safety. It still doesn’t erase the years of mourning and grief. It doesn’t erase how you poured so much of yourself into the idea of tracing his steps and living his journey. Finding clues about your brother was supposed to be your big adventure, your ‘coming of age’ tale. Yet…

He should’ve told you. You would’ve joined him too. You would become a rebel if it meant being with your best friend despite being a young teenager. You’d be by his and Crix’s side, helping to save the galaxy. Maybe he knew that you would follow. You were young and impressionable and idolized him too much.

“It’s getting late. You can sleep in the bedroom; I’ll be out here.”

“This is your place, Crix. Not mine.”

“And you’re my lover’s sister. He would smite me,” you both laugh. It’s comfortable and soothing. You can imagine living here, on Tatooine, and helping Crix farm water. Crix would definitely welcome you. Your brother would like it too. The two people he cared for, taking care of each other.

But you know your place is with Mando. At least for now. When you think of home, it was always the tavern. The Crest isn’t comfortable. It isn’t a home. Yet, being around Mando feels right. Like it’s meant to be. Of course, the cheesy romantic side of you swoons and does all the talking. The rational part scoffs. A life with a bounty hunter doesn’t seem like the life you want or could enjoy. Besides, you have your answers. You’ve accomplished your goals. There’s nothing left to learn from Mando.

“Let’s just share the bed, yeah?”

“Your Mando won’t mind?” You shrug.

“It’s not like we’re together, you know. And you’re basically my new brother now.” Crix smiles, a wide, happy, smile. You return the favor.

When you wake up, hours later, Crix has already left. Groaning, you stretch your arms and back. A real bed did wonders for your physical state. Of course, Crix’s warmth was nothing like Mando’s. Sleeping next to Crix was like cuddling alongside your brother. Familial. Platonic. Mando, on the other hand, made you think sinful, unutterable things.

A glass of milk waits for you when you emerge from the room. You glance around at the empty living room, and conclude that Crix must be outside. You decide to lounge on the couch with the cold milk and take little sips. There isn’t anything for you to do; when you tried to help yesterday, Crix shooed you away with fervor. Your skills also don’t apply to farming; you’re better off with managing finances.

You settle for stretching on the floor, taking the time to hold the positions. It’s hot as usual, and you already build up a sweat. You stretched regularly at home, more out of boredom than a desire to stay healthy. There’s room to exercise on the Crest; you see Mando doing it when he has the chance, but it’s still a little awkward for you to stretch around the ship. The Crest isn’t yours, and you don’t know how long Mando will allow you to stay. The thought of your temporary status makes you feel… a little inadequate, so you push that to the back of your mind.

After an hour or so, Crix invites you outside. He asks if you’ll join him on a little trip to Tosche Station since he’s missing some parts he needs for repairs. You agree, excited for a mini adventure, and strap into the speeder bike. Hopefully Mando won’t get worried if he arrives at an empty house. Some part of you wants Mando to miss you and get worried, as selfish as the thought is.

Anchorhead is quite boring. Aside from leering males and brute criminals, nothing exciting happens. Of course, you and Crix were mistaken for husband and wife—something the both of you laugh at— so you pretend to be in-laws instead which isn’t that far from the truth. After Crix buys all his parts and some extra supplies, you head back to his homestead.

The rest of the hot day is spent talking about your brother. How he was a great pilot and an even greater friend. How he had to be an absolutely amazing person to catch the attention of a Jedi. Crix seems to hold an idol complex for the near-extinct wizard religion, so your brother talking to Luke was momentous for him. He offers to tell you stories about the Jedi Order, but you’re not really interested. It’s probably your poor, uneducated, Outer Rim self speaking, but the Jedi of the Republic are so fantastical that it’s hard to believe they’re real. Besides, why would you listen to tales about them when you can learn more about your brother?

The day passes quicker than you realize, and the gentle chill of the night arrives. Like the previous night, you and Crix sit outside to watch the suns set. It’s calming, and you find yourself getting used to the routine. You can see a future, a life here with Crix. A simple life, far from the dangers of space and accompanied by your brother’s lover.

“He likes you,” Crix says, nudging you out of your thoughts. At your confused face, he continues. “The Mandalorian.” You scoff.

“As if. I don’t even know his name or face.” Crix shakes his head.

“It wasn’t like that before. My mom told me that Mandos could take off their helmets and say their names anytime they wanted. I think yours is just super strict,” Crix shrugs. Huh. You’ve always wondered about the Mandalorian culture and how strong warriors are hardly seen anymore. Maybe they’re like the Jedi: from a time before the Empire, forever hiding in the shadows, content to lay low and survive.

“Maybe,” you say and turn to face the lowering suns. From the corner of your eye, you see a dark figure speeding closer. Crix notices too and squints at the approaching speeder bike. The person parks right in front of you and hops off. Mando.

He drags a gagged and blindfolded person off the bike and onto the sand below. The human male struggles for a bit, but Mando presses a button on the vambrace, and the man shudders before falling unconscious. It’s a disturbing sight, and you shiver. You can’t imagine the feeling of getting electrocuted to sleep.

“Well, he’s a bounty hunter for sure,” Crix mutters. You jump to your feet and approach Mando. He looks tired. The tension in his shoulders, the stiff stance of his legs, and the heavier breathing point to growing signs of fatigue. A pang of guilt stabs your heart.

While you were lounging around, drinking milk, and watching the sunset, Mando was working his ass off for a bounty. For just a few credits to fuel his ship and feed himself while providing for you. You haven’t even done anything useful except cleaning and providing a warm body.

Maybe that’s all he needs you for.

As excited as you are to see him, you also feel a little dread. Crix nods at Mando, and they enter the house along with the bounty. As Mando passes the threshold, he holds a hand out towards you. The little action makes you smile, and you scurry over to take his hand. Together, you go inside the house. Despite the air being hot as usual, you relish in the warmth of Mando’s gloved hand, in the heat his metal armor retains.

You’ll talk to him later about ways you can help out and ease the burden of his job. Possibly figure out what your relationship really is. If it even needs a label. You need clarity eventually, some even ground at least.

For now, you settle next to Mando on the couch as Crix prepares some food. Mando will have to eat in a separate room and clean his armor and blasters there too. And you’ll be waiting for him when he’s done.

read chapter five

#mandalorian x reader #mandalorian x you #the mandalorian #din djarin #star wars fanfiction #a way out

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writers-blogck · 5 years ago

Text

BNHA Imagines - MISC 01

Meeting for the First Time

Hitoshi Shinso:

He was pissed that he was put in the General Studies, he should be in one of the hero courses! Those tests weren't made for a quirk like his so there was no way for him to show off how powerful it could be. Plus, just to top it all off and piss him off further, he could hear a couple of students whispering about him. He could tell they were all support heroes, huddled up and gossiping. He thought that this would go away when he got into U.A. but guess jerks would always find a way. He was used to it by now. "He looks super creepy, it's like he wants to be known as a villain." The one girl spoke, obviously frightened by the purple-haired boy. "I know. Mind control is always bad, how could a hero have that quirk?" "I bet he'll drop out and join the League of Villains. He already fits the part." The words filled him with both anger and sadness. He had lived his entire life with those words and worked every day to prove them wrong. He had thought that since U.A. would be different since he had expected the students to be smarter but it was obvious that he was wrong. The three years here would be filled with voices and hidden stares just like the rest of his life. Why should he expect anyone to think differently? "You do realize that the number three pro-hero is a man-made up of fire, right?" A new voice spoke up, bringing Shinso out of his thoughts and made him pay attention again, "That seems pretty villainy to me. What about thirteen? I'm sure people thought that her quirk could only be used for villainy. Plus it has been scientifically proven that a majority of villains were students who either failed or kept being told they could only be a villain instead of a hero. So please, be my guest if you want to keep berating him but don't be upset when he treats you like a villain. Even the best person will be a villain if they are diminished enough. All it takes is one bad day." Your eyes glowed a medium blue as you stared at the girls. You were part of the support class as well but still had a powerful quirk. It was called Memory Card, allowing your brain to reach super-genius levels for up to fifteen minutes. You would remember anything you had ever been told and could use this power to access all of that knowledge. It helped that you were just super smart, to begin with, knowing your brain was made to support such knowledge. As your eyes slowly changed back to (e/c), the group of students scurried away. Before Shinso had the chance to talk to you, you were gone. At that moment, he made it his duty to go find you and at least learn your name.

Mirio Togata:

Panic began to fill your chest as you crumbled against an alley wall. The dim street lights were the only thing lighting up the world around you. Everything seemed so dark and like there could be anything just around the corner. Whispers swirled around you and you could feel she was on her way. Why did it have to be like this? You would prefer not having a quirk to having to go through this. It made your entire body want to shut down.

Most of the time you were able to control her. As long as you were able to keep yourself calm and collected, she couldn't take control. You were able to use your quirk as it should be used. It was able to make people see their biggest fears, something which kept you from training with it as much as you should. How could you train with someone when you would have to make them feel that way? You had vowed from a young age to only ever use it in emergencies and against bad guys. Yet, due to your lack of training, she was able to take over every now and again.

Nightmare felt like a demon at times. You had no clue how these types of quirks worked. The only other person who you knew who had something like this was Tokoyami and he didn't understand himself. Dark Shadow got stronger when he was in the darkness, Nightmare got stronger the more you lost control of your thoughts. Breathing hurt as you gasped, fingers scratching at your neck as if something was choking you. You had medication to keep these episodes from coming on but you had run out. The doctor said he could see you in a few weeks and that you shouldn't have any attacks. Well, obviously he was wrong.

Hot tears streamed down your cheeks, one of the only things you were able to feel at that point. The rest of your body felt like it was numb and wasn't in your control anymore. No matter how many times you reminded yourself it wasn't real, it didn't help. Her sharp talons had attached themselves deep in your back and were planning on staying there. She had never gotten control of your body but you were terrified one day she would be strong enough. "Hey!" An echo reverberated around your skull, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It was a male voice and while Nightmare could mimic someone, this sounded different. It felt hot, unlike everything around you that was freezing you to the bone. It seemed to only strengthen due to the voice but a patch of warm spread on your shoulder, shaking you. Loud thunder rumbled from above - she was angry. The talons tightened but you forced yourself to focus on the soft warmth until you felt your eyes open again.

The alleyway faded away as the light returned, bringing you out of your attack. The sun was shining down at your crumbled form against a tree on school grounds, your skin suddenly becoming quite warm. How long had you been here with the hot sun shining down on you? As you sat up properly, you could feel the sweat under your blazer and made a mental note to get some water as soon as you were inside. "Are you okay?" Your attention shifted to the boy standing above you, his voice exactly like the one you heard before. He was larger than you overall, suggesting him being an upperclassman. He wasn't part of 1-B, the class you had been assigned to. They told you that if you had more control over your powers, you could have made it into 1-A. You wanted to but you had no idea how to train without using someone else. What class was this boy in? General Studies? Support? Your mind was in a daze, slowly shifting your attention to the blue worried eyes looking down at you. Blonde hair was pushed back, though it was beginning to get messy with the heat. The first thought in your head as you saw his face for the first time was: Can the sun be a person?

Tamaki Amajiki:

Japan was so different than America. You knew you were lucky to be one of the transfer students to U.A. but it was intimidating with the entirely new country. The manners were so different here, they had so many ideas of what was polite and what was disrespectful. How would you learn it all? Would someone get mad at you because you were a foreigner? These thoughts filled your head until a shout rang out and you felt a large amount of force push against you. It was easy to regain your balance after stumbling back an inch or so. The sound of metal crunching up filled your ears as you began to focus back in on the present. What had happened? "Oh my god, are you okay?" A purple-haired boy that was much taller than you asked, running over in your direction before slowing as he got closer. His eyes moved from your figure to the crumbled car in front of you. A mixture of confusion and panic washed over his face as you casually looked down at the ruined vehicle. Luckily, no one was inside. What had happened? You glanced toward the direction it came from before you felt pale hands ghosting over your skin in search of some type of wounds. "I'm fine!" You smiled up at him, causing him to stumble back to put some space in between the two of you again. "That's a full car that just hit you. Maybe you have a concussion...Hm, you need a medic but the villain is still attacking...What should I do?" He mumbled the last part to himself, body rocking back and forth on his heels. This reaction was normal for you when someone saw your quirk for the first time. You were small, just reaching 5 feet (a symptom of your quirk), which often caused people to see you as fragile. It was rather ironic when they finally saw what you could take.

"I can take it. I am like super dense, you definitely can't pick me up. I'm 300 pounds if you can believe that!" "What...?" "My friends from home call me Buggie because of my quirk. I'm like an ant, do you know about them? I'm sure you do but some people don't think about how strong they are. They can carry up to 1,000 times their weight! I can do that too, isn't that really cool? I mean, lifting 1,000 times my body weight is straining but you know what I mean. " "Yeah, alright. If you're not hurt..." There was doubt in his eyes but he needed to get back to the battle. He would have to trust you if he could get back to Fatgum and help him. What if he was being hurt right now? His stomach twisted and he felt like he was ready to throw up. "No, I'm fine! I can move this car if you need, I could easily pick it up and-" "Ah- I don't have time. I'm sorry, I need to get back to that villain." A simple nod was all that you got as a parting before he was running off, white cape fluttering behind him. You wondered if he was a student of U.A. as you walked away, looking down at the address of the school that you were trying to find.

Nejire Hado:

When Ryuku decided to take you, along with Tsu and Uraraka for your internships, you were shocked. You were a quiet and shy individual, feeling a lot smaller than the two other girls. Both of them weren't afraid to speak out about what they think or how people are going to react. To you, this was your everyday life. Your quirk allowed you to see the future, multiple versions of the future. Sometimes it was good but you often saw so many terrible and dangerous things. Such simple things could hurt so many people. It had left you filled with anxiety, wishing you could turn off your visions. What was even more shocking was the member of the big three that also was part of your group. The three of them had spoken to your class, though you had a hard time paying attention, you still were able to remember her. Nejire, that was her name. She was so much nicer than you thought. She was so patient with you, it had to be due to Tamaki. She was used to dealing with someone with a fast-acting mind.

"Senpai..." You spoke softly, catching the attention of the blue-haired girl. The first time you had called her that was an accident but she seemed to like it. You couldn't help but wonder if she paid more attention to you than the other two girls. Was that fair? Were you just overthinking it and seeing things that weren't really there? "Yes?" She smiled and your heart couldn't help but skip a beat. Nejire was just so pretty and sweet, it was hard to keep yourself from getting flustered around her. She was what you dreamed to be but you doubted you would ever be as good as her. You didn't even have a chance, why did you keep trying? Shaking your head ever so slightly, you pushed those thoughts away to focus on the task at hand. "Are you sure you want to take me on patrol with you instead of Tsu or Uraraka? I'm certain they would be more suited for it...I don't want to mess up and make something-" "You are perfect for patrol, my little kohai. Plus, I want to get to know you better and you seem to be less nervous when there are not many people. Don't worry about it, I'm certain about my choices. I like to think I make pretty good ones, you know?" Her arm flung over your shoulders, leading you forward as you were left in silence. How could your face feel this hot? Was the air thinner? "O-Okay..."

How were you going to survive this girl?

All-Might:

The two of you were much younger when the two of you met for the first time. It was hazy to remember how it all went. It was strange to think there was a time you didn't know him or Aizawa or the others. They felt so permanent in your life now that thinking before them felt wrong. All-Might was one of the top heroes and the others were rising in the ranks just as much! Why would you want to focus on the past when the present was so good? It wasn't as magical as the press tried to guess. They said he rescued you from falling off a bridge or you had been a hostage but it was nothing that fancy. The two of you had met your first day of U.A. because the two of you were in 1-A. Toshinori attracted the attention of most of the other students and you would be lying if you said you didn't check him out like the others. He was handsome- a strong body with a dazzling smile. The full package. When lunch rolled around, you would be surprised when he approached you first, asking if he could sit with you. It wasn't that you approached him first and fell in love like the media believed. It was the exact opposite. If anyone asked him to this day, he would be willing to gush about you for hours if they let him. At first, it was a simple adoration as a friend who was proud but it began to change. It would all be out in the open when he ended up kissing you while a camera was pointing at the two of you. That was when all shit went loose. But it was much simpler back when the two of you were in school. It was no different than any puppy dog crush between two people. The two of you had no clue of the chaos and pain that waited for the two of you in the future. Who would expect their happiness to be on a timer?

Aizawa Shouta:

It wasn't rare to find Aizawa drinking at a bar in his free time. He was stressed and it was only getting worse as the year progressed. His students were being put in more and more danger and there was nothing he could do about it. These villains were getting ahead of the pro heroes and it was increasingly becoming hazier on if they could win. One would like to believe the good guys always will win but Aizawa knew better. He had lost that innocence long ago.

"Are you alright?" A soft voice brought him out of his thoughts, making him look up to see the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. They held no grief or guilt in them and instead sparkled in the dim bar light. They were holding a small glass of wine, their lips dyed with a faint hue of red. "I'm fine." He grumbled, eyes drifting to the whiskey in his cup. Was this his second glass? He didn't keep track, he just drank until those thoughts left. It was one of the only ways he was able to get some sleep recently. It wasn't healthy but he didn't know of another way. So much was happening and he was in charge of making sure his students were safe. Bakugo had gotten kidnapped, who knew what else was coming? They were children...

Without any warning, they sat down in the stool next to him silently. Nothing was said between the two of them at that moment or the rest of the night. Aizawa didn't have to do anything and yet, the person stayed. He had expected to get annoyed but the presence of another person helped. His mind was able to relax if only for the few hours they were able to spend together. The minutes passed as they sat together, drinking their respective drinks. The sun soon set and the darkness began to cover the city. The time of the villains. He needed to go, he had work in the morning. He may not get a lot of sleep but he was going to take advantage of the warm liqueur in his stomach and the calmness this person provided. As he stood to put his jacket back on, his eyes glanced over at the dark streets again and couldn't help but think about how dangerous it was outside. He was a hero, after all, he was trained to go out when it was like this but when he looked at the other person, they looked just like a citizen. Before they parted, he took a chance and offered to walk them home. He was considering taking it back but once they agreed, he was too far gone.

Hawks:

For your first two years of attending U.A., you were an intern under Aizawa. He would never admit it but he had a soft spot in his heart for you. When you first entered the school, you had no family and had self-esteem about as good as Tamaki's, one of your juniors. You could remember seeing him get into 1-A as you were finishing up your last year. That had been a hectic time for you but you were part of the top three of your own year and had to give a speech. You were proud when you heard the shy boy was in his own big three. You knew he had talent when you met him.

Most of your time was spent in your internships as you had two to do, something extremely rare. Your official internship was under Aizawa and you were training to become a teacher at U.A. but you wanted some more fieldwork under your belt. When you first started, Aizawa did have you go on missions and such but it had declined the older you got and the more concrete your goal of working at U.A. became. It was true but you wanted more. That was when you met him for the first time. He was amazing to watch! When hearing that he was only twenty, you decided that you would internship under him.

Aizawa tried to talk you out of it but he knew once you had something on your mind, you wouldn't stop until you got it. It took a lot to finally get the boy to agree to take you under his wing. He gave a long list of reasons why the two of you would be a terrible pairing but you kept coming back with reasons that destroyed his complaints. In the end, it was your determination that made him agree to let you tag along. What would your life be if he rejected you? Once you finished your final year in U.A., you were given a position as a teacher's assistant, to Aizawa as was expected. When you got a few years under your belt with him, Nezu would then allow you to teach first years. It was a dream come true! Training future heroes was amazing but you did have that tug every now and again where you wanted to help with more hero work. Hawks decided to let you come with him on patrols whenever you got that way, the two of you going through many sleepless nights together. The press even dubbed you as Hawk's 'semi-sidekick'. You weren't in the front lines a lot but you really appreciated what Hawks did.

Hawks had no clue what to expect when he took you in. He had never been a mentor to someone and it was strange when they were only three years his junior. The mentorship morphed into a strange friendship that only strengthened once you graduated. What he didn't expect was to begin feeling differently about you, no longer seeing you just a kid. Aizawa had accepted his soft spot for you during your second year but Hawks was still in denial about how he really felt. The two felt different types of love for you but without you even knowing, you had them wrapped around your finger.

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findingniamho · 5 years ago

Text

New Fic!!

Hey everyone! Hope you’re having a good day! Here is a wedding fic I wrote (and what better day to post it than Simon’s birthday?). You can read it on AO3 here or below the cut. Hope you enjoy it! :)🐟

BAZ We’re going to be late. I keep checking my watch and each time I do, time seems to have jumped forwards at an unnatural rate. I half wonder whether something has somehow managed to sneak into the watch and is now pulling the hands around just to mess with me. Except that the car radio says the same thing. I check again.

“Basilton, if you check that damn watch one more time, I’m throwing it out of the window.” Fiona. She can always be relied upon to treat a situation calmly and delicately. I turn to face the driver’s seat, where she’s sitting in her black dress. She always insisted that she would wear black at my wedding. “To mourn the loss of having you all to myself to annoy. Besides, you’re going to be wearing black, aren’t you?”

I couldn’t argue with that. I’m wearing a black suit with a matching waistcoat and bowtie (as Simon would say, bowties are cool. I prefer the term sophisticated, but there you go). There’s a rose on my lapel (an actual one, the suit itself is plain this time) and, of course, the ring that Simon slipped on my finger a few months ago. The ring that made me believe that all of this was possible again.

It was inevitable, really. All through America, when we were on opposite sides the car or diner tables or motel floors, both of us were silently reaching for the other. It was a relief when we finally got there. When his hand and his gaze could find mine and we could fall in love all over again. I smile down at my hands.

I’m getting married, I say to myself.

I’m getting married to Simon Snow.

SIMON

This is perfect. We’re breezing along in Penny’s car. It’s a hot day so the window’s open and there’s a warm breeze floating though, ruffling my hair. If I close my eyes, I’m transported back to America and we’re cruising along the highway with nothing but blue skies, endless fields and an old radio to keep us company. Penny’s humming Here Comes the Bride and I’m leaning back in my seat, picturing the day ahead. We’ll arrive first and get into the chapel. It’s the same one that Baz’s parents got married in. All the Pitches have gotten married there. That’s gonna be me soon. A Pitch. Simon Grimm-Pitch. I never thought I’d see the day. I’m going to have a name with something attached to it. Sure, the things attached might be villainy and dark magic, but it’s also attached to a family. I’m going to officially be part of a family. Of course, Penny, Shepard and even Agatha feel like family to me but now I’m going to know what it’s like to have a mother and a father. Sitting around a dinner table at Christmas, small squabbles that are forgotten soon after, family jokes that no one else quite gets. All of that is just at the end of this car ride, along with Baz.

Baz, who saved me from the mage.

Baz, who saved me from myself.

Baz, with his grey eyes and sarcastic smile and not-quite-right nose. Who loves me, all of me.

I sit further back, putting my arms behind my head. My wings and tail are spelled away for now, but we’re bringing them back for the ceremony. Baz said that if he was marrying me, he wanted to marry all of me. That’s also another reason why Baz will be the one walking down the aisle towards me; I don’t want anyone unconscious at my wedding.

Here Comes the Bride stops abruptly and Penny exclaims: “Simon! You’ll crease your suit!”

“Argh! Sorry, Pen.”

“That’s okay, Simon.”

A sit back up and she glances at me for a moment before turning to face the road again. I haven’t seen her smile like that in a long time. I think she’s more excited than me about all this, really. She and I spent hours making her car clean enough so that I could sit in it in my suit. She’s wearing a yellow dress, similar to the one that Baz nicked for her when we were running out of money and time. She worried about me a lot, before. She and Baz both did. I try not to think about those times too much. I’ll take the time to unpack and deal with those memories one day, but for now, I’m content to just sit here and natter with Penny.

“Do you think you’ll ever get married?”

Penny’s eyes keep firmly fixed on the road.

“I don’t know, maybe.” She’s paying extra-close attention to her mirrors as we change lanes.

“What about Shep?”

“You’re wondering if I think that Shep would get married?”

“No! Well, yes. To you.”

A pause. Then, “Don’t be absurd! We’ve only known each other a few months. And he probably wouldn’t be interested in me anyway.”

She shakes her head as I’ve seen her shake it many times before, like she’s trying to throw an idea out of her brain. I smirk at her.

“You hesitated.”

“Because I was thinking it through!”

I raise an eyebrow, Baz style. “So, it was worth thinking about?”

She’s going red. Interesting. “You know well enough that it’s important to consider every eventuality, Simon. Anyway, this is your wedding day, not mine.”

“I would point out that you’re changing the subject, but you’re right.” I turn to look out at the window again, my thoughts turning back to the day ahead and I smile. “It is.”

AGATHA

This is probably the most exercise that I’ve done since I was at school, where I spent most of my time running with Simon from whatever happened to be chasing him that day. All day, Shepard and I have been loading things from his truck into the hall opposite the chapel and then putting them out: streamers, tablecloths that complement the napkins, speakers for the band, glasses, champagne to go in the glasses, cutlery (which Shepard kept putting out wrong), centrepieces, balloons and loads of other wedding stuff. We’ve been here all morning and we’re still nowhere near done. It makes me wish that I hadn’t left my wand at home.

I plonk yet another box of plates on the table closest to the door and survey the room. It does look pretty good, I have to admit. I reckon even mother will approve. Everything is white and gold, and the place settings look spectacular. Streamers are hanging from the ceiling and the sunlight that streams through the window glints off the glasses, making them sparkle. I smile as I look over to the table to where Simon and Baz will sit later today as a married couple, next to Penny – who’s been made “best woman” – and Baz’s parents. I expect a part of me to be sad that Simon will be sitting there next to someone who isn’t me. But instead, there’s a calm in me, a peace I haven’t felt since, well, ever. For the first time in my life, I feel like I’m truly where I belong. Not at Watford, pretending to care about being a good Mage. Not in California, pretending to care about levelling up and changing the world. But in between, actually caring about these people who now surround me.

I think deep down, I’ve known for a long time that this is how all this would end. And Merlin, aren’t I glad.

“Agatha!” calls Shepard.

“Coming!” I yell back. I take one last look at the empty, quiet room before stepping back out into the sun.

***

We’re nearly ready now. I’m changed into my bridesmaid’s dress (Baz’s siblings and I will all wear matching pale pink) and I’m standing outside the chapel, putting together confetti baskets for the children. Shepard comes around the corner to help, phone in hand. He’s changed, too. It’s a strange sight, Shepard in a suit. He holds up the phone.

“That was Simon. They’re nearly here.”

My stomach flutters nervously. “Are we ready?”

“All set! Nice job, Agatha.”

“Thanks. You too.”

We sit in silence for a moment. Shep’s restless, he keeps fidgeting, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, just a bit nervous I guess.”

I look up at him, where he’s squinting into the late May sun, still not staying still.

“Why? You realize you’re not getting married, right?” He goes a bit red at that. Honestly, I’m surrounded by fools. First Simon and Baz, now Shepard and Penelope. It almost makes me wished that I’d stayed in California, just to avoid all these will-they-won't-they shenanigans. Almost.

“Well, I guess that I don’t really feel like I fit in here. I’m going to be the only Talker, the only Normal, at this wedding.”

That’s true, I guess. Some of Baz’s family were a bit funny about letting him come. Some things never change, I guess. But he has saved their lives several times, in suppose. In America, and after.

“Baz and Simon wanted you here, Shepard. They care for you, very much. As do I. And Penelope. Once you’ve survived a crisis at Watford, you’re bonded for life, I guess.”

He takes a deep breath, then smiles quietly down at me. “Yeah, you are.”

He looks back up the road, to where we parked the truck this morning, along with some of the things for the wedding. The planners have packed up and gone now, so it’s just sitting there by itself. Shepard points a thumb over his shoulder. “Hey, so there’s one more box in the back. Feeling strong?”

I flex my non-existent biceps. “Of course.”

I stand up and together we walk back to the truck.

SIMON

As we pull up to the chapel, I can sense that something’s wrong. The air is jumpy and static, and there’s a funny smell coming from somewhere. It’s too sweet, like that time that I stuffed 20 marshmallows into my mouth (Baz dared me, so it was justified). Next to me, Penny starts sneezing.

“Pen?”

When she turns to me, I see that her eyes are streaming. “Simon! It’s – achoo – it’s-.” But then she’s cut off my several more sneezes before she can speak. Her voice is hoarse, like the words are trapped in her throat. “Pixie dust.”

“Pixie dust?”

“I’d know that smell anywhere,” she wheezes, before sneezing several more times. There must be loads of it to make her react like this. Outside, I notice that several of our guests are here: some of Baz’s family, the Bunces and Agatha’s parents are all gathered outside the chapel. And all of them are sneezing.

“Stay here.” I slide out of the car to investigate. As I approach the crowd, Shepard and Agatha emerge from it. Both of them are changed for the ceremony and Agatha’s dress ripples out behind her as she runs urgently towards me.

“Simon!” Agatha exclaims.

“What’s going on?” I ask, looking between Agatha, who seems to be holding back tears and Shepard, whose face is drawn and worried.

“We were setting up,” Agatha starts, voice shaking, “when we realized that there was one more box to unpack, so we went to the truck to get it. We figured that it was for the chapel, not the hall because everything had already been set up in there. But when we opened it up, it… it…”

“It blew up,” Shepard finishes for her.

“It blew up?”

“Kaboom.” He gestures with his hands. “I think it was an invisible box that an ogre that I met in the Andes planted on me because I accidentally used his toothbrush.”

“That’s gross,” Agatha mutters. He ignores her. “They’re tricky things, come in and out of sight as they please. I thought it was just another box of wedding things.”

“So now there’s tonnes of pixie dust everywhere. It’s fine in smaller quantities but this-.” She sneezes. “It’s not good, Simon.”

Shepard puts an arm out to the sneezing guests. “We told them to wait outside. We don’t want them to get any closer but there’s nowhere else for miles where we could go to get help.”

“Is Baz here yet?”

“No, he said that he and his aunt are running late. He was super stressed out.”

Okay, at least Baz is safe. Typical him, getting so caught up about punctuality though. I would laugh about it if my wedding wasn’t on the verge of being ruined. I look around at our guests. Baz’s relatives stand in small, scattered circles. Penny’s mum has one protective arm around a girl (Priya, I think) and is sneezing into the elbow of the other. In fact, everyone is sneezing uncontrollably. Everyone, except...

I turn to Shep. “How come you’re ok?”

He shrugs. “Guess it only affects magickal folk.”

That explains me, then. I turn towards Agatha. “Get the guests into the reception hall, me and Shep will go into the chapel to try to clear up. Right?”

Shepard nods. “Right.”

Agatha sneezes again, setting off into the crowd. But then she stops and turns. “You’ll get your wedding, Simon. I promise. You’ve given so much to the world; it’s time you got something in return.”

“Thanks, Agatha.” I nod, unable to say anything more around the lump that’s just come to my throat. She smiles with quiet understanding before starting to herd the guests across the road. That’s when I notice how bad the stench is again. I cover my nose with my arm to try to block it out.

“Okay, here’s the plan,” I say to Shepard. My voice comes out muffled through the fabric. “We’ll see if Penny can do anything about this.” I flap my other arm around, trying to waft the sickly-sweet scent away. “Then we’ll try to clean up.”

“You got it, boss.”

Then we head towards Penny’s car where she is (still) sneezing.

BAZ

I knew it. We’re late. As Fiona turns down the road that leads to the chapel, I squint to look ahead to the entrance, where there are only a couple of people hanging back outside. Everyone else must already be inside, waiting for me. Brilliant. As we get closer, I see that it’s Simon and Shepard, standing by Bunce’s car.

That’s odd.

Fiona parks at the opposite side of the road, remaining silent. Fiona’s never silent. I think that she can sense that something’s wrong, too. There’s a strange smell in the air. She lets me get out by myself to see what’s going on. As I approach Bunce’s car, Simon and Shepard turn to me. They’re both dressed ready for the ceremony, Simon in a suit that complements mine. When I look at him, his eyes light up and he smiles.

“Baz!”

It’s still strange, sometimes. To hear Simon say my name with anything other than contempt or anger. To hear it with a kind of soft, private joy that warms my heart each time I hear it. All that time at Watford, I always dreamed of this day. Not my wedding day, specifically (although that daydream did sometimes sneak up on me when I wasn’t paying attention), but the day when Simon said my name and it meant something different. The day that those unremarkable blue eyes looked into mine with affection, not violence. The day that his hands unclenched from their fists and reached out to hold mine. And to see him, now, here, knowing that later that same mouth that used to yell and scream at me would be saying “I do” and kissing me? I remember when all of this was just a dream from the other side of the room. But now we’re here.

I smile back at him.

“Hello, love.”

SIMON

He looks good. He always looks good, the tosser. His hair flows freely down to his shoulders and his deep-water grey eyes are shining as his lips quirk up to smile at me. That smile’s going to be gone pretty soon. I brace myself.

“Baz, we’ve got a problem.”

As I explain the situation to him, I watch his face fall and it breaks my heart. But his eyes remain steeled with a fierce determination. I’ve seen that expression before. He’ll stop at nothing to save this.

“So Shep and I are going to go into the chapel-.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“No, Baz! It’s too dangerous.”

“This is my wedding too, so we’re going to save it together, okay?” He folds his arms and sets his mouth in a firm line. “I’m not changing my mind. It’ll be much quicker with the three of us.” I roll my eyes. “Okay fine. Penny?”

Penny holds out her wand. “Quickly, before I start sneezing again. Okay. You’ve gone... nose blind!”

Baz wrinkles his nose. “Febreze, Bunce?”

“The Normals quote it,” she shrugs, then sneezes again.

“How come you seem to have it worse than everyone else?” I ask.

Penny somehow manages to glare and sneeze at the same time while grounding out one word: “Trixie.”

Ah, that explains it. Penny’s roommate used to spread it all over their room. It must make her less tolerant of it than everyone else. It was never as much as this, though. Penny stops sneezing long enough to fix all three of us with a fierce look.

“Now, you three had better sort this out and have the best wedding day ever, okay?” She says it like a threat, but she means well.

“Thanks, Pen.”

“You’ll look after them, won’t you Shep?”

He grins and gives her a weird kind of salute. They look at each other for a moment, and something passes between them. Then Shepard leans on the car door. I think he’s trying to look casual, but it just looks like he’s forgotten how to stand up properly. Merlin, is that what I look like when I think I look cool? Crowley.

“Shepard,” Penny says.

“Yes?”

“Stop leaning against my car.”

“Sorry.” He straightens up, arms flapping. I can see Baz and Penny both trying desperately not to roll their eyes. “Well, we should go.”

“I’ll be waiting in the hall,” says Penny. “Good luck, and be careful.”

“Don’t worry, Pen. We’ve got this.”

We wave her off, then head towards the doors to the chapel.

“Right,” I say. “Let’s see how much of a disaster we’re dealing with this time.”

Shepard looks up at the chapel, squinting in the sun. “Here we go again.”

Baz takes my hand and squeezes it. He leads me towards the chapel. “Here we go.”

BAZ

Shepard and Wellbelove weren’t exaggerating. It’s everywhere. The smell’s worse in here, and despite it being dampened slightly by Bunce’s Febreze spell, it still makes me want to gag. Plus, there’s the sight of it, which makes my eyes water. Why does everything to do with pixies have to be so sparkly and bright? It looks a lot like tastelessly pink glitter. Shepard emerges from the alcove off the entrance with two brooms and a dustpan and brush. Simon claps his hands together, then winces like he realises how idiotic that looks. I shake my head, rolling my eyes. Honestly, I must have truly lost my marbles to still want to marry him of all people. But here we are. Maybe I’m the idiot.

“Right.” Simon clears his throat. “Shepard, if you take over there,” he gestures towards the alter, “and Baz and I start this end, then we’ll work across. You take the middle and we’ll do the sides.”

“Cool.” Shepard hands one of the brooms to Simon and the dustpan and brush to me. He starts walking down the aisle, whistling like he’s just going out to mow the lawn, not sweep up the remains of a magickally explosive box and its overly sparkly contents.

“Thanks,” I whisper to Simon. I don’t think either of us wants to walk down the aisle until the time comes. He nods in silent understanding, which is his way of saying you’re welcome. I kneel on the ground, rolling up my sleeves and wincing. This is going to ruin my very nice, very expensive suit. But my priority right now is to save our wedding.

I look up at Simon. “Let’s get to work.”

SIMON

We work in comfortable silence, me sweeping and Baz brushing dust into his dustpan and occasionally getting up to empty it into the bin. We’re both filthy, but I guess it doesn’t matter anyway. There’s a lump in my throat as I continue to sweep the dust into a pile. I look at the aisle Baz should be walking up; at the alter we should be standing at; at the doors we should be walking out of hand in hand, as husbands. I suppose I should’ve seen this coming. It just feels like this always happens when I’m around. Like I’m the one causing it, with my streak of bad luck that follows me around like a shadow. I should’ve somehow known that this would happen, I should’ve warned everyone, should’ve-.

“Simon?”

I look down at where I’ve been very aggressively sweeping pixie dust in no particular direction, causing it to fly up and float around everywhere, including all over Baz. Great.

“Sorry,” I mutter to Baz but don’t move.

He stands. “Simon, what’s wrong?”

His voice is soft, like how he used to speak to me when I would spend my days on the sofa, feeling like nothing was worth getting up for. I shake my head, feeling on the verge of tears. But I have to stay strong. This is supposed to be the happiest day of our lives. The thought makes me start stammering.

“I-it’s just. I can’t. I. It’s that...”

Baz’s face tells me to take my time. He knows that words are still a bit tricky for me.

I take a shaky breath. “This isn’t how this was supposed to go. It’s all ruined.”

I start crying proper then. “And I can’t help feeling like this is all my fault, like it is every bloody time.”

He walks slowly over to me and places both his hands lightly on my shoulders.

“Simon, did you plant an invisible box in the truck that’s been magickally rigged to explode?”

“Well, no, but-.”

“Did you then fill the said box with sickly-sweet scented pixie dust that causes a bout of sneezing fits for any mage that comes near?”

“I guess not.”

“Simon, I know that you think that you somehow caused this, but listen to me when I say that this is not your fault. Growing up, I know you were told that everything was your responsibility but the weight of the world doesn’t rest on your shoulders. You weren’t even there when the box blew up, for Crowley’s sake! This is your wedding day, Simon. When everyone’s supposed to fuss around you and help you because you are special and loved, and I’m not just talking about me.”

“But it’s your day too! We were supposed to say “I do,” and cut the cake, and have our first dance. But instead-.”

“Simon,” he says. One of his hands slides from my shoulder down my arm to take my hand. He holds our clasped hands up and steps closer to me so I have no choice but to look into his eyes. We start turning slowly on the spot, Baz humming a made-up tune as we sway in each other’s arms. Our shoes leave quiet footprints in the dust. The light streaming in from the stained-glass window splashes colour onto us as we step in and out of the darkness and the light. As it lights up half of his face, and half of mine, I remember what today is really about.

It’s his coarse, rough, fire-holder’s hand holding mine and me holding his back.

It’s his soft grey eyes looking into mine and me looking back.

And, as we slow to a stop, his lips kissing mine.

And me, with all the love I have for him, with all that I am, kissing him back.

We’ve been through it all, but we came out the other side together. We can still have perfect moments with each other, even when everything’s gone to shit. This is the beginning of a lifetime of perfect moments.

“Thank you,” I whisper, laying my head on his shoulder.

“Anytime, Simon,” he murmurs into my hair. “Anytime.”

BAZ

For a moment, there’s peace. There’s just me and Simon, and the only sound is our breathing as we hold each other and stay so, so still. Then there’s a clattering and banging from the other end of the chapel and a call of “I’m OK!” from Shepard. I step back, smiling fondly down at Simon.

“We’d better get back to work,” I say.

“Yeah,” he replies, meeting my smile with a stunning one of his own.

I kneel back down and start sweeping more dust into the dustpan. I’m glad when I look up and see Simon sweeping the dust into (much calmer, much more orderly) piles. We’re moving a lot more efficiently now; we can start doing the rest of the chapel soon.

When I next stand up to empty the dustpan, I gasp and yell “Look out!”

Simon turns sharply, startled.

Right into the lit candle behind him. It topples over and the holder cracks in two. The candle rolls across the floor, igniting the dust that still coats the edges of the room. That’s when I learn that there’s one thing that vampires and pixie dust have in common: they’re both extremely flammable.

The flame snakes its way up the walls and curls around the wooden beams in the ceiling. Ash begins to rain down and I cough as the smoke enters my lungs. I can hear a creaking above me and look up just in time to see a beam collapse and begin to hurtle its way down towards where I’m standing. I brace myself for the impact. Great, I think. I’m going to die on my wedding day. I suppose that means my corpse will be well-dressed, at least.

An arm comes around me and I’m tackled to the ground just before the flaming beam hits me. My head smacks into stone as I’m shoved against a wall. A trail of warm, sticky blood trickles from my temple down the side of my face. I don’t dare to open my eyes as I hear the destruction around me roar in my ears, the smell of burning intensifying with the heat. It’s only when I hear eerie silence, like someone’s put a blanket over me, that I open my eyes. I’m met with the sight of Simon’s face scrunched up and inches from mine and his wings spread out behind him, their edges burnt from shielding us from the flame and rubble that rained down upon us.

SIMON

“Simon, love. Open your eyes.”

Baz’s voice is soothing as I slowly blink myself back to here and now. Baz is sitting in front of me. One side of his face covered in blood. He’s sitting in my shadow, which I can see is winged. I try to move my wings but wince in pain. Burnt. I don’t remember the spell wearing off, or saving Baz. I just remember needing to move and then opening my eyes down here. I look behind me at the remains of the chapel. There are bits of rubble and shattered glass everywhere, just like there was in the White Chapel. I did it again.

I start crying, then sobbing, then howling. This is what always happens. This is how this always ends. Magic or not, I always manage to make everything explode around me and take out anyone in my path, including Baz. He’s going to want to leave, I know it. Because I’m a fuckup, as I’ve shown again and again. Because I can’t leave who I was behind. Because-.

This time, it’s Baz’s arm that comes around me to save me. To save me from myself, as he always does.

“I’m here,” is all he says.

I cry even harder into his shoulder.

BAZ

Once we’ve extracted ourselves from the wreckage and established that Shepard’s okay (he is – he heard us from the other end of the chapel and escaped through the other door), Simon and I stand side by side, looking at the burnt remains of the chapel. It’s still smoking slightly, but luckily some of our guests have managed to use It’s raining cats and dogs to put out the rest of the fire and Clear the air to get rid of most of the smoke. It’ll take a little while to repair the damage to the chapel, but it’s nothing that can’t be handled with the combined magic of everyone here.

While everyone sets to work to try to save this wreck of a day, I try to console Simon. He grew up thinking that he was nothing, then the Mage told him that he was everything. He still is everything, to me. It just makes him feel like anything that happens is his fault, like he still has the power to fight whatever gets thrown his way. Over the past few months, he was slowly coming around to the idea that he isn’t responsible for every disaster that he comes across. He was finally starting to realise that his mistakes don’t make him a disaster – they make him human. I put my arm around his shoulder and he leans his head on mine. He stopped crying a few minutes ago but still hasn’t said anything. He breathes quietly next to me and a gentle breeze comes to ruffle his hair.

“What are we gonna do now?”

His voice is tentative, like he’s afraid of the answer. I survey the wreckage again, with the groups of our friends and family gathered around it holding wands, rings and staffs aloft. The air is heavy with magic, and with shouting; the Bunces are running a tight ship. They’re working quickly, but I’m not sure if it’ll be enough. We’ll probably be done by tomorrow, but the chapel and hall are only ours for today.

There’s no way I’m postponing. I know that no matter what, I want to be married by the end of today. Crowley knows we’ve had to wait long enough.

I take Simon’s hand and squeeze it.

“I have an idea.”

SIMON

I have no idea where we’re going. I’ve already asked Baz at least 10 times, and every time he’s just raised an eyebrow and said: “You’ll see.”

He’s lucky I love him because it’s gotten more infuriating each time.

All I know is that he and his aunt went off somewhere and when they came back they were both grinning like maniacs. Then his aunt tossed him her car keys, told him not to wreck the car and we both got in and started driving. We’re going along the main road now, Baz’s eyes bright as we drive along. We’re both filthy: our clothes are ripped and bloodstained, and there are holes in the back of my suit from my wings and tail (which have been spelled away again). There’s still a trail of blood down the side of Baz’s face. I reach out to touch it and his hand gently takes mine and moves it away. He doesn’t let go, though. We stay like that until he has to change gears and he slows down to a stop in front of a gate.

And that’s when I realise where we’re getting married.

In the place where we met as enemies.

In the place where we fell in love.

In the place where I asked Baz to marry me.

Watford.

BAZ

Simon’s smile is one that I’ll never forget. As he gazes up at the gates to Watford, his lips turn up and his eyes shine. The late afternoon sun makes his hair seem to glow, as well as the constellations of freckles on his face, which has blown open into wild, unmistakable joy. He closes his eyes and tilts his head back, then turns it towards mine. His cheek catches against the seat, squishing half of his face and rearranging the freckles. It’s adorable.

I mentally capture this moment of him and me, sharing this space alone before we’re going to be surrounded by people again. I capture his smile and his eyes and the feeling of his fingers intertwined with mine as he catches my hand again and the way it feels when the rings on them clink together. Unfamiliar, yet so right at the same time. As if they were always meant to be there. I capture the filth in his fair, and the dots of blood that pepper his cheeks. All of my imperfectly perfect Simon Snow.

I capture his voice as he leans in to whisper to me.

“Come on Baz.” Then he kisses me fleetingly, just once. But Crowley, if it isn’t one of the best of my life. He tugs at my hand.

“Let’s get married.”

SIMON

We walk up to the White Chapel hand in hand. Baz explains that everyone else will be on their way. Apparently, his aunt has a few people who owe her favours who can clean up the chapel. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d just called some people and scared them into helping by threatening to turn them into nine-toed trolls. But the thought’s nice.

As we walk, we talk about our memories of this place: the yew tree where he sent me to wait for Agatha all night, the football pitch where I used to watch him play, the spot where he tried to steal my voice. All of these memories, painful or not, seem so far away now. We were children then, and now we’ve grown up. We’ve changed and grown and laughed and cried alongside each other.

Whether we were fighting or learning or figuring ourselves out, it was always with each other. And now we stand with each other at the door to the White Chapel where everything changed for us. We fall silent when we reach the doors. I squeeze Baz’s hand and he squeezes back.

“I love you,” I say quietly.

“I love you too, Snow.”

Then we don’t say anything else as we sit with our backs against the wall and wait for the world to catch up with us.

BAZ

I stand outside the chapel doors with Father, waiting for everyone else to settle down inside. Wellbelove’s fussing over my siblings a few metres behind us. I can hear Mordelia kicking up a tantrum over having to wear pink. As quiet overtakes the other side of the door, Father turns to me.

“Are you ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

And I mean it. I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life. Father goes to open the doors.

It was difficult, in the beginning. I knew that he always suspected that I was queer, but we’d never had a frank conversation about it. It was one of the topics that we simply had an unspoken rule to never discuss. It was that, my mother’s death and my vampirism. After returning from America, I realised that if I wanted to fix things with Simon, I needed to find peace with myself first. That involved going to therapy (I agreed that I’d go if Simon did) and telling my family, plain and simple, that I was gay. And that I was dating Simon Snow. At first, Father didn’t say much about it. He spent long hours in the library, looking over family photos and staring out of the window. Eventually, he showed me a photo of my mother.

“This is the last picture that was taken of her before she died,” he said, holding it up. Then he started talking about how much he missed her and still does, how he wished that he had been with her when it happened. How hard it was to look at me sometimes because of how much I looked like her. Then I told him about how Simon had caught me in her office looking at a picture of myself that she’d kept with her. How that had been the start of something. I told him about that Christmas and America and all that Lamb had told me about my kind. I told him how it made me unsure about many things but the only thing I was still sure about was how I felt about Simon. Little by little, day by day, Father began to come around to the idea of Simon and I being together. Sure, it took a lot of work. There were good days and bad days. But now here he is, about to walk me down the aisle towards a boy, not a girl as he probably envisioned for me one day. But there’s genuine love in his eyes as he says: “I’m proud of you, Basilton. And your mother would be too.”

“Thank you.” I’m too choked up to say anything else.

He swings open the doors and leads me down the aisle.

SIMON

It’s work not to turn around when I hear Baz approaching. I smile, knowing that I only have to be without him for a few moments more. (Also I can’t turn around for fear of knocking someone over with my wings). Baz steps up beside me glances sideways, grinning.

“Hi,” he says.

“Hi,” I smile back.

We turn to face Penny’s mum, who agreed to officiate. As the ceremony starts, I look around at us. At our wedding. It’s not exactly how I pictured it: Baz and I are both still pretty filthy and the location is different but it’s almost better. This place holds painful memories, yes, but this chapel is where things changed for both of us. And we’re both still here, despite it all, agreeing to spend the rest of our lives together.

“Do you, Tyrannus Basilton Grimm-Pitch, take Simon Snow to be your husband?” Baz takes both of his hands in mine. “I do.”

“And do you, Simon Snow, take Tyrannus Basilton Grimm-Pitch to be your husband?”

And I’ve never been surer of anything than when I say: “I do.” Baz slips a ring onto my finger and I put one onto his. It’s strange how the feeling of his cold hands in mine is so familiar, yet what we’re doing is so unfamiliar at the same time. I guess everything we do now is going to be unfamiliar because it’ll be the first time that we do it as a married couple. Or maybe nothing will feel different at all. Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out together. We always do.

Penny’s mum spreads her arms wide. “I now pronounce you husband and husband. You may kiss.”

In the moment before Baz and I kiss, something makes me cast a glance towards the back of the chapel. Three women are standing there: Ebb, Baz’s mum and a woman with blonde curly hair that I vaguely recognise as the girl in a photo that Agatha showed me once.

My mother.

Baz follows my gaze and I have no words for the expression on his face when he sees his mum for the first time since her death. Then I blink and they’re gone.

Baz and I kiss, the first of many kisses that we’ll have: that day as we celebrate with our family and friends, as we walk (just the two of us) by the lake after the party, tomorrow when we wake up next to each other at the beginning of our life together. And each and every day after that.

When we break apart to face our congregation, I think I see the ends of a pair of glittering green wings leaving the chapel. And a voice that follows them. A voice that sounds almost exactly like chiming bells...

I silently thank Liliana, granter of wishes, for letting those who care about us see us one more time.

Then I take Baz’s arm and we leave the chapel, smiling and waving at everyone. Penny tackles us in a tear-soaked hug, then Agatha joins, and Shep. I hear Baz’s aunt whoop and see his dad give us both a smile. It’s the start of a spectacular celebration.

A few hours later, I take Baz into my arms and flap my wings.

“Are you ready?” I ask.

My husband responds by kissing me.

And away we fly.

#happy birthday simon snow #simon snow #baz pitch #snowbaz #penny bunce #agatha wellbelove #shepard from omaha #my fic

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cartoonfangirl1218 · 4 years ago

Text

Motorcycle Race

Has a bit of Mick and Lisa friendship. Takes place between Rogue Air and Family of Rogues. "Okay peoples let's get this party started!!!!!" Shawna shouted in the middle of the crowd in Saints & Sinners.

Mark Axel, and Hartley burst in quickly behind her. Mark's small hurricanes blew the door hinges off and people ran screaming out. Mick, Leonard and Lisa dragged behind.

"I can't believe we're robbing this place." Leonard muttered disgustedly as the crowds pushed and ran past them.

"Aww c'mon on Lenny. It's Shawna's birthday let her rob S&S if she wants to. Besides look at all the wallets people are leaving around." Lisa grinned as another patron ran away screaming, not noticing Lisa's hand dipping into her pocket as she ran past her. "I already got 7!"

Leonard shook his head with his usual "Why-in-hell-am-I-related-to-you-and-why-did-I-agree-to-this-stupidity" sigh.

Lisa rolled her eyes, he was the one who created the group who wanted to do said stupidity. He was the one that had wanted to get more villains to go against the Scarlet Speedster, and now they were stuck with them.

It all had started when Shawna came to the warehouse with a bunch of shopping bags, announcing that no one should go to her room tonight because it was her birthday. Then Axel came up with the idea that they should celebrate. And with Rogues, what better way to celebrate than by filling their pockets with cash, jewelry and other stuff they got for free. Shawna insisted on Saints & Sinners because she wanted to crash at the bar so off they went.

Lenny hadn't wanted to go, but Lisa had goaded him to it because what would it look like if the leader of the Rogues was so noticeably absent from a theft.

"Like he is the only sane one, so that's why he's the leader" He drawled. He ended up going anyway because he didn't want anyone to end up in jail before going on their next heist.

Lisa had to admit, she had been against the idea of having more in the Rogues besides the three of them. Sort of an exclusivity. But it had been generally okay. Mark and Axel were all over her when Lenny wasn't around and it was nice to be so pampered and admired.

Despite his lovesick gazes, Axel was the jokester and she thought he was the best one to hang out with. who wouldn't love a buy who stole the cold gun, freezed the hallway and started sledding races. She didn't know quite what to think of Mark and Hartley they mostly stood to each other or by themselves. But as long as they didn't mess up her life with whatever inner angst they were holding up she didn't care.

Shawna was fun to be around, it was nice to have another girl in villainy and they sometimes compared notes on Cisco and made fun of him and the other Rogues when they went clubbing. But she also had a sneaking suspicion that she had been using her powers to get into her room, and steal her make up which was not cool at all. She had stolen those Clinique bottles through her own hard work and she wasn't going to share. The place was finally clear, the owner of the bar stared at them through widened eyes. He looked like he was going to stand his ground but one glare from Mick sent him scurrying off.

“Best day ever" Shawna sighed satisfied sipping her bottle of vodka she took from the bar. Axel and Hartley were jamming up the cash register and Mark seemed to be trying to take off the disco ball with his mind.

"So how long do we get to crash before the police arrive?" Mick asked absent-mindedl, lighting a cigarette.

"10, 8 minutes or so" Leonard said checking his watch.

"Cool we stay here until last second and then off out" Shawna grinned, as she spotted a sequined purse lying under one of the tables.

"Maybe you can but we can't." Mark said, looking at the locked front door.

“Oh yeah, it must suck that you have to leave early because you're not fast enough to outrun the cops" Shawna mock-pouted "Poor baby.”

"I can out-run the cops anytime I want.”Hartley shot back.

“No way, your stick legs can't outrun a snail" Axel jeered.

“Yes I can" Hartley shoved him. "No way" Shawna called out.

"Forget running, best way to go is by motorcycle" Mick said.

"And that title is held by me" Lisa added.

“Please" Mick snorted.

"Please what?" Lisa scowled.

"I'm the one that actually taught you how to drive fast. No way you can beat the master." Mick smirked. It was true. Len had been the one that taught her to drive car, how to drive a motorcycle, how to repair the, but Mick was the one that taught her how to drive fast ad dangerously. They used to drive around Central, breaking all kinds of speed limits.

"Mick, stop talking drunk and be serious.” Lisa snorted.

“Guys, I have the perfect way to solve this" Shawna grinned.

"Beer" Mark said helpfully.”

“Yes, that and we race on it." Shawna suggested. The Rogues stared at each other and ran out of S&S. They headed to the old dump yard at the edge of the skate park, and took some bicycles lying around while Leonard, Mick, and Lisa took their own motorcycles. "Okay first up,” Lisa announced "You four go race starting at the half pipe, to S&S and back again. Then Mick and I will go, winner race winners." Leonard just settled down at the park bench watching them intently.

“Do we get to use our powers?" Hartley asked eagerly.

"Of course" Lisa purred "What fun would it be if we didn't?"

The four got on their bikes, and glared at the lights of S&S and the police cars in the distance.

"Ready, set go!" Lisa called Axel started up the fight by setting off parachute bombs at Shawna who was up front, she disappeared just as the bombs hit the ground.

Which made Mark and Hartley scramble off balance into some trees. Mark fought back as lightning blast out of the sky, making Axel zig-zag into the street.

"SHIT!! Biker coming through" he yelled as car honked and barreled toward him. Shawna reappeared once more in front but was soon overpowered by Hartley when he aimed his sonic gloves at the ground. The whole race sorta crumbled after that.

They got so distracted with fighting each other that jumped off their motorcycle and use their powers and combat skills in a four way fight.

"Guess we can get started then," Mick commented. “Done" Lisa pulled on her helmet, and crouched on her golden motorcycle "See you at the finish line old man" Lisa crowed.

Mick grunted. Leonard placed their guns next to him and called out "Start!”

It had been fast and furious, without the added distraction of firing fireballs me gold at each other they swerved precisely and smoothly across the streets. Lisa sorely tempted to drive over by him and hit him against the curb, but one thing she re breed from racing him years ago that knocking out you're opponent also made sure you slowed down too.

They made it to S&S and we're greeted by the police, and the owner. "Yes, they helped rob the place!"

"Drive back, drive back, tactical retreat" Mick shouted at her, she didn't need to be told twice.

She zig zagged as people always said to do if you don't want to get shot by the police. She certainly didn't want to today and in this outfit. The blood would stain the chiffon for sure. She heard the squeal of tires blowing out, and cursed to see her motorcycle tire with a bullet in it. Mick was a little ways ahead of her, already getting dragged off by the police officers.

She shook her head, dejectedly and let them cuff her without a fight. Without a gun, against their many many holsters, it didn't seem worth it.

As she got shoved in with Mick, he huffed on yet another cigarette dangling from his mouth. "Ya know your brother is gonna killed us."

“He could kill Shawna... She was the one with the whole birthday robbery idea and then the motorcycle race." Lisa said, "This is not worth getting killed over. If anything he would kill you for screwing me.”

She was thinking of Leonard's ever present threat, to murder anyone, especially partners having sexual relations with her.

"He wouldn't kill me" Mick said, carelessly.

"Really?" Lisa added doubtfully, she knew Mick was like Leonard's closest and only friend but she didn't think their friendship extended that far. Hell, he said that Mick was the last person he wanted her having sex with. “I believe his exact words were, If you think one impure thought about her I will catastrate you, boil your nuts and burn you alive." Mick said thoughtfully as Lisa stared at him in horror, with more than just the threat in mind

“Did you like me?" She would never admit but she had a crush on Mick for a few months when she was 14. Nothing big, and it was before she knew the extent of his craziness. All she knew was that he had a car with license, had wicked prison tattoos, and an intriguing deep guttural voice. It went away after awhile but never once did she think Mick would have looked at her the same way.

"I just saw you in a one of your evening dresses, and happened to compliment your rack out loud. That was it." Mick said. “That explains it" Lisa smiled, "And you and I dating. Never. I don't go for balding, old men."

"I don't go for idiotic train wrecks" Mick retorted.

They settled to an easy silence before she broke it again, “So what do you think of the whole Rogues thing?"

“Worst plan ever. A guy who can make thunderstorms whenever he cries, a disappearing act that thinks robbing S&S is big game, a dumbass engineer with parental issues, and a daddy's boy with bombs. Len couldn't pick up someone cool and useful like someone who could control minds, or an assassin." Mick snorted.

“Let’s face it. The original three of us pulled off more cons than we did with the rest." Lisa agreed.

"Well we're stuck with them for now. It'll be like our own reality TV mess." Mick snorted.

"I bet I could get Shawna in a fight with Mark over the bathroom and then have Axel and Hartley making out in the closet in no time." Lisa smiled, mischevious thoughts running through her mind.

"Mark and Hartley in the closet? I bet Mark and Hartley. In Leonard's office" Mick corrected.

“You're on. I can't wait to see Lenny's face when that happens" Lisa grinned.

"After we get out of this, we're going for another round though" Mick added.

"You want to get beaten by me twice?" “I was way ahead of you before the cops came." Mick sneered.

"You have proof?" "I don't need proof, I'm better motorcyclist than you'll ever be. I was back then and I am now.” Mick snarled. "Things changed, Rory. I'm number one now." Lisa glared back at him.

“Things haven't changed that much, Glider. You still need to learn how to zig zag without getting shot, don't you think for a second you're not the same kid that I had to drive to school and help with...with Brazilian waxing" Mick said, with a rare smile at the memory.

Leonard had forced Mick to go to her wax appointment with her when he got stuck at a job with Lewis. It had been a hard ordeal for both of them, and Mick ended up with a broken wrist. "It was my first time, and you wouldn't let me hold your.."

The truck stopped with a halt, and Shawna appeared in front of them. "You're anti-heroes of the day have arrived" she cheered, opening the door and pushing them out. They fell to the ground, "Would you mind, uncuffing us first" Lisa spit dirt out of her mouth.

“Oh of course!" "Here let me help!" Mark and Axel scrambled to uncuff her.

“A little help here" Mick hissed, jingling his cuffs, as Leonard rolled his eyes to help. “That's enough for tonight" Leonard used his stern, leader tone and gestured to the motorcycles waiting at the bench.

"You head out, we have a score to settle" Lisa said, and winked at Mick. “Yeah Goldie wants to get her ass kicked.

"Don't get so cocky, Rory" Lisa smiled, revved her engine and the two roared off to the pipeline.

#mick rory #heatwave #golden glider #lisa snart #captain cold #leonard snart #the flash #the rogues #shawna beaz #peek a boo #weather wizard #pied piper #trickster #my fanfiction #my fanfic

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1-800-himbo · 4 years ago

Text

The Only Option Left

Tomura Shigaraki X Reader

Synopsis : After Y/N commits a crime that cannot be taken back... Their last chance at safety lies in the hands of Tomura Shigaraki.

TW : Murder, blood, other general lacks of a moral compass and a sprinkle of villainy

🤚🏻 👾 🍂

When he found me, I was covered in blood. I felt dry and wet and cold and hot and couldn't stop shaking. I could feel the crimson drying on my face, my hands, and settling in clots of thickened red goop. Beside me was a body, limp and heavy. I wasn't sure where it had gone wrong. Where my anger had become too much to handle, where my blood boiled over, and where I subconciously made the choice to take a life.

I didn't feel guilty. No... The last thing I felt was guilt for this individual. I didn't know who they were. All I'd wanted was the release. ... Right?

"... Now, where did the system happen to fail you?" I flinched. His voice was raspy and harsh- but I supposed I didn't get to think about who was harsh, considering I had just killed a man in cold blood. I soon met eyes with more crimson. Not blood, but a naturally red set of eyes staring down at me with mild interest. As if I were a dollar bill on the ground, crinkled and forgotten. Perhaps mildly useful, but not a stunning find. If anything, the body beside me might draw more interest.

"... What?" I was panicking. My thoughts weren't registering for me, his words weren't registering, and my eyes were rapidly exploring his body in an attempt to ground myself.

He stared me up and down before crouching before me, his strong gaze unwavering. Although I had just killed someone, he didn't fear me at all. Perhaps he feared nothing. Perhaps he was a god. Perhaps I should kill him, too. I clenched the knife in my hand. I could do it. I could push the blade into his throat- right along that odd, rough area. ... Scratches? He wouldn't last long if I did that, would he?

His lips were moving. He was speaking. I could hear his voice- the way it cracked and wavered, as if he had a sore throat. The way it grumbled up from his chest, and escaped his cracked, visibly dry lips. I heard- but I didn't understand. I made the first move between us- thrusting the knife forth. He grabbed it.

He... Grabbed it? Suddenly, my hand was empty. There was nothing but dust in my fingers, my nails suddenly pushing into the fleshy palm of my hand. It was gone. The knife was gone.

With a thud, my back met the brick wall behind me, and the hand that had previously grasped my only weapon was wrapped around my throat.

"No, no, no!" I cried, the screech ripping out of my throat just before he clamped down with three fingers and his thumb- pressure on the sides of my throat making it hard to breathe. I didn't want to die. I didn't want to die too. The pressure continued- and despite my dizziness, I was still fully aware of my own cries. Desperate crying- like a child lost in a shopping mart. A puppy abandoned in an alley. Tears and gasps and chokes of demise. ... And he released me. The air burned my lungs when I could finally breathe again, gasping for the painful substance.

"Never try to kill me again. It won't work, anyways.." He hissed, and stood. "Come with me. Or don't. I don't need you- you need me."

Perhaps, a part of me would've decided to not come with him simply because he told me I needed him. No I didn't. I didn't need some freaky guy with a freaky quirk.

... But I did. I did need someone. Anyone. It seemed he knew what he was doing.. And so I stood, feeling my legs quiver beneath me. I was weak.

Our eyes met again, and he narrowed his affirmatively. "If you come with me... You're joining the League of Villains. No escaping, either. You do what I say when I say it. Is that clear?"

I nodded quickly. As he leaned down, and pressed a hand against the body, it began to click. Watching it desintegrate, I realized. Red eyes. Almost white blue hair. Dry skin. A husky, but light voice.

"... Tomura Shigaraki?"

🤚🏻 👾 🍂

I woke with a jump. At first, fear curdled my blood.

They know. They know I did it. The League would leave me to cuffs, and I'd find myself in a prison cell.

Then, realization settled in, the sound of knocking reaching me once more. "L/N Y/N," a poised voice mused through my door. "It is almost noon. Tomura Shigaraki requested you go to his room."

Almost noon? "Thanks, Kurogiri!" I chimed, quickly pulling myself out of bed. The league had been residing at somewhat of a speakeasy bar for a while now, and I'd been able to set up my own little nest in one of the back rooms. Well... Technically, it was a janitor's closet. But considering Dabi was currently sleeping on an old, worn out couch, I didn't complain at all.

After navigating myself to Shigaraki's room, I stood outside the door, chewing softly on my bottom lip. My relationship with Shigaraki had been tense. ... After I tried to murder him. Well, I suppose his hesitance was justified, huh? With a deep, nerve-cooling breath, I knocked on the door- lighter than Kurogiri had done to mine.

"You don't have to knock when I send someone for you," A grumbled voice answered my knock, and I figured that was incentive to enter the room. I weaseled in, and quietly shut the door behind myself. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dark, but my sights had soon settled on a messy bed. Fleece blankets were littered along it, mostly grey and black. Subtle light crept in through a small window near the ceiling- hence the only reason I could see him. Laid out like a dog in the sun, an arm draped over his eyes.

"... Are you feeling alright, Shigaraki?" Perhaps this was just the Shigaraki way, but I figured if he needed me he might at least get out of bed.

"I've been thinking." The lanky man grumbled softly, before his chest rose and fell in a thoughtful sigh. My lips parted to question what about- but he began speaking again. "... That mission. For the explosive one." He continued, and my lips pursed gently to supress my words. "You aren't going, Y/N."

"... Why not?" I questioned, of course surprised. I figured he'd want as many of us as possible there. A hand rose dismissively, as if he wasn't even going to answer, and he yawned. When he didn't hear a simple agreement, or the sound of me leaving, he lifted his head. "What?"

I furrowed my brows. The League had been backing me for almost a month now, and now I wasn't even going to be part of their missions? "... I don't want you there. It's going to be dangerous."

... Huh? His face was blank. He seemed to think that was the full explanation, and it'd all make sense. "Of course it'll be dangerous, Shigaraki! We're villains!"

I didn't quite understand why he was so keen on protecting me all of a sudden. What was I worth to him that he didn't want to put me in harm's way? He slowly stood, stretching out like a cat fresh out of a nap. "... Too dangerous," he murmured, head slowly turning to meet my gaze. His motions were slow, sluggish, as he made his way closer to me. "Too dangerous to let you go scurrying about without me to save you when you screw up." But it was that line that made it clear, as his eyes bored into mine. It had become common for me to see him about wearing Father, or any of his other collected hands- but not now- his stare was level and steely.

He wasn't keeping me stuck here because he thought I would screw up. Did this mean... Shigaraki Tomura cared? Even in the slightest?

I took a step back when he grew a little close for comfort- but his steps forward overcame mine back, until I was against a wall- and he was leaning down to reach eye level with me. Our lack of distance made my body tense, a shiver squirming up my spine. "Listen here, player two..."

"You're not going anywhere until I can trust you to hold your own. Until then... You're stuck with me."

#tomura shiragaki #shigaraki x reader #oneshots #reader insert #bnha x reader #league of villains #lov #shigaraki tomura #boku no hero academia shigaraki #my hero academia shigaraki #bnha #mha oneshots #bnha oneshots

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stories-mostly · 6 years ago

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Stark's Bug

Tony Stark x Son!reader

Let's all collectively ignore that I forgot about the entire first 15 min of the 2nd Iron man movie as a late birthday gift to me. Thx.

Words: 1525 (what a pretty number to look at)

Warnings: Canon typical violence, other than that none

Chapter 15

You are watching Happy and your dad box in the ring as you stood beside it copying their movements and fighting an invisible villain. Lots of stuff had happened recently but now that your dad was back, there was no reason to dwell on the latest happenings. Because: You had your own superhero costume!

It had been a weekend project with your dad after he caught you playing with his helmet on. He came up with the idea and you with some rough drafts of the design, then you worked together to give it the finishing touches. Creating your superhero costume all within a 48 hour time span.

There was a helmet in Iron man style but purple and blue colors which looked similar to Captain Magic's colour scheme and it was taken off and put on like a motorcycle helmet. There were strong glasses in the holes for your eyes which Jarvis was built into. They could simulate enemy's. Make them look like they're really there, so you can fight them.

You had a long Cape with dark purple on the outside and a softer blue on the inside, which was attached to your shoulder plates. They were attached to your chest Armour that reached down to your waist line and was made of a thin, breathable, sturdy fabric. You also had super special gauntlets, and boots that reached your knees. You loved your look and went by the name of "Captain Storm", after Captain Magic of course.

His superpowers are controlling the wind, time travel, and super strength. Captain Storm also has a super secret super power only to use in dire situations. Nobody knew that he can use the force! But soon he'll be found out by his arch nemesis Madman!

You had your fun playing pretend as the door opened and Pepper walked in. She was real busy recently so you were excited to see her.

"Pepper!" You shout and run over into her arms.

"What? Who are you?" she gasped.

"Uh? I'm (y/-, I mean, I'm Captain Storm! I was protecting you of the evil lasers of Madman! You can only see them with my super special helmet! Thank me later!" You explained taking a superhero stance. You smiled up at her and went away to "fight" the evil Madman who was now targeting your family!

You didn't even realize there was a whole stranger in the room smiling at your antics.

As soon as your father left the ring the strange lady got in it and fought Happy while Tony and Pepper talked.

You watched in despair as she took down your uncle without a problem. How dare she? That was your uncle! And an ally of Captain Storm! She must be a villain! In truth you were very impressed though. Well (y/n) might've been impressed but Storm saw in her nothing but a potential threat! Maybe she was even a spy sent by Madman! He just couldn't trust her. Though he tried to copy her moves. They were really cool.

You snuck off into the side room and changes back into your "civilian clothes".

Walking back into the gym the woman and Happy were both out of the ring.

You wandered over and let yourself fall over your dad's lap.

"You're finally back, Bug." he said ruffling your hair after pulling you up into a sitting position. Instead of being sprawled over his legs like a lazy cat.

"What're you doing?" you asked both of them, as they seemed to be doing, well, things. You didn't really know what.

"Nothing big, just some paperwork." He paused handing back the papers to Pepper. "Bug, What do you think about going with Happy, Pepper and me to Monaco?" He asked after you faced him properly.

"A vacation?" you were confused, you had school. Also where IS Monaco? Your knowledge of European geography didnt go further than knowing a few names of countries and their estimated location.

"Yeah, more or less. I mean going to Monaco to attend the Grand prix? You know, Formula one? Cars racing each other." He made motions with his hands that were somehow related to race cars.

"Sure." You shrugged pulling up all the knowledge you possess about formula one. It wasn't a lot. You knew that your Stark industries was sponsoring or owned one of the teams and that they drove really weird and fast cars, but that was about it.

It was your first vacation in a long time so hopefully it would be fun.

Not long after your father had asked you whether or not you wanted to come you were in Monaco. More specifically in your hotel room.

You jumped around on the furniture in the large living room as your father was taking a shower. He had said to get ready but you could spare a bit of time for playing.

You let Captain Magic fly around the room after the Captain America figure Coulson had gifted you. Magic knew that Captain USA was an imposter since the real one is dead. So now she had to catch him and reveal his true identity. Though playtime was over as soon as the bedroom door opened and both Captains crashed into your father's chest.

You gasped, and then apologized while giggling.

"Your apology is accepted, now go get dressed you rascal." He said picking up both captains and shooing you back to the couch where your suit was waiting to be put on.

You were dressed in a few minutes, struggling a bit with the button up.

Your father tied your tie and voila you were all ready to go. Looking all fancy in your dress shirt and vest. A real charmer, as your dad put it.

You put on your sunglasses and left.

Arriving at the race track you were overwhelmed on how big it was. You couldn't even see it all together. They really had to drive a long way around Monaco. People cheered as your father got out of the car. He did his usual spiel, while you clamored at the track. You also gave a short wave to the people before you followed Pepper and your dad inside, Happy following behind you.

Inside you where slightly overwhelmed so you just stuck to your father's side. Natalie was also there doing stuff. You actually only found out her name on the flight here when you were back to playing pretend.

Somebody took a quick picture of the three of you while your dad didn't stop talking. You continued to follow him around like a lost puppy.

There was the Hammer guy that was also at your dads court hearing. You could feel that they hated each other. The four of you shortly sat down on a table before Natalie came and told Tony that the other table he wanted is ready.

Your dad stood up and Pepper took your hand having realized how lost you looked, leading you over. You sat down and fiddled with the middle button of your vest.

"Wheres Tony?" Pepper asked after you were both seated.

"On the Toilet." you said looking over to the TV where the preparations for the race were broadcasted.

"I think hes off the toilet now." you said as you saw your dad in full racing get up on the track.

"What? Oh my God." Pepper said and asked for Natalie to bring Happy.

Meanwhile you were ecstatic at the thought of your him racing.

The race began and you were basically bouncing in your seat. Not knowing whether your father was winning or not you still cheered him on internally.

You looked over at Pepper who still had a "I can't believe this" expression on her face.

Your attention was drawn a few minutes after the race had begun. There was a man on the track, just casually walking along. You knew something wasn't right even before he started to turn into a weird very villainy looking dude. You turned to Pepper only to see that she was gone. Now you were panicking. You took deep breaths, trying to calm yourself but nothing was working. Natalie placed her hand on your back comfortingly. It didn't calm you down at all but grounded you a little. Your father was on the screen getting attacked by some random guy, without his suit, and your main support system was currently gone! You had a feeling that they weren't away to search for safety either.

Tears were building in your eyes as the situation grew more and more concerning.

All you could do was stay there helplessly watching as your father avoided being fried by mere millimeters. You started to grind your teeth together when you saw the car you had come with ram the man into the side barely avoiding your dad. You flinched and bit your lower lip roughly.

There were several heart stopping moments before your dad could finally suit up. You'd like to say that he'd won with ease but it looked like it took a lot of effort to defeat the man.

Ultimately the man was dragged off by officers and the damage was done. You were relived that it was over.

You held onto him tightly as soon as he was within reach.

There was nothing to like about seeing your dad be in immediate danger and fighting for his life. Again.

Tags: @shannonr2003 @art-estrange @nicholasbich @tater-thottie @tonystanktheirondad @gaylemonshark @emilaa2001 @kindahadeschild

Thank you for reading :)

#tony stark x child!reader #tony stark x you #tony stark x reader #tony stark #tony stark x male reader #tony stark x male!reader #tony stark x m!reader #male reader #male!reader #m!reader #marvel reader insert #child!reader #stark!reader #stark's bug #stark's bug chapter 15 #chapter 15

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worryinglyinnocent · 6 years ago

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Fic: Out of Time (3/?)

Summary: Belle is the one to be sucked into Zelena’s time portal with Emma, and they find themselves in a very different time to the one they had anticipated, arriving to see the confrontation between Hook and a pre-Dark One Rumpelstiltskin. They manage to return to the future, but with some unintentional stowaways. With Rumpelstiltskin removed from his own timeline, the universe throws a fit, and it’s a race against time to set things straight.

Rated: T for now, but it will go up in later chapters.

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[One] [Two] [AO3]

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Out of Time

Three

Although it was horrible to watch the scene playing out on the Jolly Roger’s deck, Belle couldn’t help but notice Emma’s reaction to the whole thing, and although she knew her attention ought to have been focussed on Rumpel and his plight, she couldn’t help feeling somewhat vindicated in her opinion of Hook now that Emma was really witnessing his actions first hand.

Belle had never thought that Emma had taken her objections to the man seriously; for all that she may have forgiven and forgotten his misdeeds towards her, she had seemed very keen for everyone else to do the same. Now she was receiving an active reminder of his villainy, and she was quietly seething with fury. Eventually she stopped chuntering under her breath and sighed.

“I should have known better than to take him at face value when he always claimed to be the better man in this centuries-old feud,” she grumbled.

“Well, Rumpel’s not entirely blameless himself, but his antagonism comes a few more years down the line,” Belle said. “I think that this is where it all began.”

“Yeah. Why do we have to watch this? Is this the universe trying to tell us something?”

“I have no idea.” Belle’s hands flew to her mouth as Rumpel was knocked to the ground, and Emma had to grab the back of her cloak to prevent her from darting out from their hiding place and going straight to his side.

“We’re trying not to change anything, remember? I know it’s hard to watch, but we can’t intervene.”

Belle sagged back down against Emma with a sigh. “I wish that we could. Couldn’t we just make sure that he’s ok?”

“Belle, he can’t meet you now. He won’t meet you for another three centuries.”

“He won’t know it’s me. Not if I don’t tell him my name. If he recognises me in the future, then he’ll just put it down to me being a distant relative. He’s hardly going to think I’m the same person.”

She didn’t know why she was so desperate to go and speak to him. She knew more than anyone the consequences of meddling with magic beyond her understanding; Rumpel had warned her about it enough during her time in the Dark Castle. All the same, she couldn’t help but think that perhaps they had ended up in this time frame for a reason, and that Rumpel would be the key to getting them back home, even if he was not the Dark One at this point in time.

“We’re supposed to be finding a magician to get them to help us back to the future,” Emma said, but even as she spoke, Belle could see her resolve wavering, human nature winning out. “Earlier you said that you thought you had a theory for how we could get home. How badly do we need someone with magic for that?”

Belle shook her head. “Not very badly. It was only to confirm if my reasoning was correct.”

“What’s the reasoning?”

“We’ll be taken back of our own accord soon enough. I think the portal will re-open. Meddling with time is such a hugely magically illegal thing that has very far-reaching consequences. Magic with this much power always has fail-safes built in. Even the Dark Curse that brought us all to Storybrooke in the first place had fail-safes. Rumpel built in security measures. Zelena might have been unhinged, but she knew what she was doing when it came to the handling of such powerful magic. She would want to make sure that whatever she did in the past didn’t send things too far the other way and make her worse off than before when she returned to the future. I think that maybe the portal has only a temporary displacement effect, taking you back in time for just long enough to alter what you need to and then return.”

Emma pondered Belle’s reasoning for a long time. “That implies that in order to get back, we’re going to have to change something.”

Belle hadn’t thought about it like that, but the more she ruminated, the more the logic seemed to make horrible sense.

“Yes. I think we are. Hopefully something small that won’t cause too much of a lasting impact.”

Two of Hook’s crew were ‘assisting’ Rumpel back down the gangplank onto the docks, and Belle and Emma looked over at him.

“Maybe talking to him isn’t such a bad idea after all.”

Rumpelstiltskin began to hobble away from the Jolly Roger, not looking back in their direction, but before Belle and Emma could plan any further, one of pirates came over and moved one of the crates that they were hiding behind. He raised an eyebrow, and Emma made the decision for them, giving a definitive ‘nope’ and grabbing Belle, legging it away from the crates and the docks and following in the direction that Rumpel had gone.

They began to trail after him at a safe distance, but given his pace in comparison to their own, they soon caught him up. Emma nudged Belle.

“Go on. Go and talk to him.”

“I’ve got no idea what to say.”

“Oh, come on, there must be something, you’re engaged to him!”

“Not him. This Rumpel I’ve never known.”

“Well, either way, you’re better at this than I am. You’re nice. You’re good with people. I’m just… me.”

Belle conceded that point; Emma was an effective sheriff and a good advocate whenever there was a battle to be fought, but tact and sympathy were definitely areas where Belle scored higher. She took a deep breath and quickened her step to bring her up alongside Rumpel, Emma still following along behind them by a couple of paces. She touched his arm lightly, making him startle and look around warily at her.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” It was the eyes that got her, looking into the same deep brown eyes that she had looked into so many times in Storybrooke but finding no hint of recognition there. Rumpel had known her even when she had not known herself, and now she was a stranger to him, just a spectre from his future. Her tongue was lost for a moment. Seeing him so nervous and worn down by life in general when she had only ever known him cool and confident – except around her, of course – wasn’t something that she could really have prepared herself for. It had been different when she had been watching from a distance. Now she was close up. Far too close for comfort.

“I just wanted to see if you were all right,” she finished lamely, despite knowing full well that he was very far from all right and that any halfway observant person would be able to see that.

“I’ll be fine, thank you.” There were tears in his eyes, but his voice was still guarded, and it broke Belle’s heart to know that he had been so alone in the world as to be wary of the kindness of strangers.

“I saw what happened on the ship,” she said. Rumpel turned his face away, embarrassed. “I think you were very brave.”

“Hardly. I failed to save my wife. I knew I never had a chance. What was I thinking?”

It was incredibly tempting to tell him that Milah was safe and well and had orchestrated this entire plot herself, but Belle knew that would be altering far too much and could have terrible consequences down the line.

“You did it anyway, though,” she said instead. “Even though the odds weren’t in your favour, you still went to try. I’d say that was incredibly courageous.”

He looked back at her, searching her face for mockery, and on finding none, he gave her the briefest of weak smiles.

“Please, just let me and my friend see you safely home. You took quite a fall there and I want to make sure that you’re all right.”

Rumpel didn’t say anything, but he did not protest as Belle continued to walk alongside him, and Emma came up to take the other flank. They must have looked an odd sight to the other locals, but Belle was past the point of caring. Her focus now was on Rumpel, and then on getting home. Hopefully this brief interaction would be enough to take them back to Storybrooke, and if she had succeeded in bringing some measure of comfort to Rumpel along the way, then even better.

There was no further conversation until they were out of the port town and heading back up towards the small villages that Belle and Emma had already passed through earlier in the day.

“You’re not from around here, are you?” Rumpel said eventually as they neared the house with glaring gaps on the line where they had stolen the cloaks. For a terrible moment, Belle wondered if that was in fact Rumpel’s house, but they walked on past it. She and Emma looked at each other.

“No, we’re not,” Emma said quickly. “We’re from… somewhere very far away.”

“Very far away,” Belle agreed.

“Really? Your accent’s Marchlands.”

“How interesting.” Belle was floundering more with every word, and she decided that changing the subject was the best tactic. “Where do you live?”

Rumpel gestured towards a small house at the end of the lane. The sun was beginning to go down, and Belle could see a little face with tousled dark hair watching at the window. Her heart leapt to her mouth. This was Bae, just a few years old and with his whole life ahead of him. Unbidden, the tears came into her eyes, and she wiped them on the edge of her cloak. Rumpel looked over at her, concerned.

“Are you all right?” How he could be so kind and attentive considering everything that he had been through himself already that day, Belle didn’t know. She nodded quickly.

“I’ll be fine.” It was embarrassing how choked her voice was. She felt a hand come and rub her shoulder awkwardly and looked up to see Emma looking at her with a similarly tearful expression. They could hardly tell Rumpel the real reason for their emotional state, but seeing Bae had brought back so many memories, and knowing what would happen in his future and being unable to prevent it was heartbreaking in so many ways.

“Please, do come in.” Rumpel opened the door for them and stepped aside to let them enter.

“We wouldn’t want to impose,” Belle said. “I mean, this is obviously going to be a difficult time for you.”

“I’d like to repay your kindness, if I can,” Rumpel said. “For a man like me, friendly words are sometimes hard to come by. Maybe some tea before you go on your way again.”

“Tea would be nice.” Belle hoped that he couldn’t hear her stomach gurgling beneath the folds of her cloak. She had no idea how long it had been since she’d last eaten, but they’d definitely missed the potluck at Granny’s and now she was feeling it.

She and Emma stepped into the small cottage and looked over at Bae as he came to meet his father at the door.

“Papa?” he whispered, half-hiding behind the spinning wheel. “Who are they?”

“These ladies just wanted to make sure your papa got home safely,” Rumpel said, crouching down to Bae’s level to ruffle his hair. “And he did.”

Bae was still looking at them through frightened eyes. “Where’s Mama?”

Rumpel gave a shaky sigh, scrubbing his hands over his face, and he took Bae’s hand, leading him to the other end of the room and sitting him down in front of the fireplace. Belle and Emma gave them some space, but Belle could still make out the words ‘Mama’s not coming back’, and when she glanced over her shoulder, Bae was hugging his father tightly.

She had not anticipated just how harrowing this experience was going to be. It had been bad enough watching the confrontation happen in real time, but now she was viewing the fallout from it. Knowing what she did about what would happen years down the line, at the separation between father and son and all the animosity that would simmer for centuries, she felt slightly nauseous. Looking at Bae and Rumpel now, though, she could quite see why Rumpel would be prepared to tear a world apart to try and get back to him. Theirs was a tight, fierce, nigh-unbreakable bond.

After a while, Rumpel had got Bae into bed, and he came back over to Belle and Emma, setting about getting the kettle and the tea leaves. Belle placed her hands gently over his shaking ones.

“Please, let me,” she said. “After the day you’ve had, the least I can do is make some tea.” She smiled at the memory of her time in the Dark Castle, her first evening there when she had chipped her cup. It seemed that she and Rumpel were destined always to be meeting over tea. “I have a lot of experience in making tea.”

Emma raised an eyebrow but said nothing, and Rumpel just gave her a grateful smile.

Belle busied herself with the tea things, wishing that she knew what to say to make the situation better without irreparably changing the future.

#rumbelle fic #rumbelle #Belle French #Rumpelstiltskin #Emma Swan #Spinner!Rum #Little!Bae #Fic: Out of Time

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admiralbell · 6 years ago

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MBTI - ISTJ Moral Alignment - Lawful Neutral Enneagram - Type 8 Temperament - Choleric TV Tropes - Angry White Man; Dad the Veteran; Disability as an Excuse for Jerkassery; Even Evil Has Loved Ones; War Hawk

(details below the cut)

MBTI | ISTJ - The Logistician or The Duty Fulfiller (x & x)

Their defining characteristics of integrity, practical logic and tireless dedication to duty make Logisticians a vital core to many families, as well as organizations that uphold traditions, rules and standards, such as law offices, regulatory bodies and military. People with the Logistician personality type enjoy taking responsibility for their actions, and take pride in the work they do – when working towards a goal, Logisticians hold back none of their time and energy completing each relevant task with accuracy and patience.

—

ISTJs tend to believe in laws and traditions, and expect the same from others. They’re not comfortable with breaking laws or going against the rules. If they are able to see a good reason for stepping outside of the established mode of doing things, the ISTJ will support that effort. However, ISTJs more often tend to believe that things should be done according to procedures and plans. If an ISTJ has not developed their Intuitive side sufficiently, they may become overly obsessed with structure, and insist on doing everything “by the book”.

—

The ISTJ is extremely faithful and loyal. Traditional and family-minded, they will put forth great amounts of effort at making their homes and families running smoothly. They are responsible parents, taking their parenting roles seriously. They are usually good and generous providers to their families. They care deeply about those close to them, although they usually are not comfortable with expressing their love.

Moral Alignment | Lawful Neutral (x)

The lawful neutral being normally sees law and order as of prime importance, with the well-being of the group put ahead of the individual on almost every occasion. Such persons see good and evil as immaterial and unimportant in the structuring of the universe into perfect order and harmony, in which lies society’s only hope for survival. Whether a law is good or evil is of no import as long as it brings order and meaning. Thus, personal gratification of needs and desires is well and fine, as long as this doesn’t interfere with the ultimate ordering of the cosmos; all other considerations are secondary. Life, to the lawful neutral being, has no meaning without order, and is thus expendable when faced with the choice between it and harmony.

Enneagram | Type 8 - The Challenger (x)

Eights are self-confident, strong, and assertive. Protective, resourceful, straight-talking, and decisive, but can also be ego-centric and domineering. Eights feel they must control their environment, especially people, sometimes becoming confrontational and intimidating. Eights typically have problems with their tempers and with allowing themselves to be vulnerable.

Temperament | Choleric (x)

They are firm and forceful in their approach to problems. They believe in ‘tough love’, and try to 'help’ others by challenging them to prove themselves, as they themselves would. They’re more likely to tell someone who they are trying to 'help’ that they’re pathetic, expecting the person to say 'no, I’m not pathetic, I’ll show you!’, as indeed a choleric would in response to such a thing.

If met by opposition, they react confrontationally to defend themselves. They are constantly trying to be 'dominant’ in every situation, subconsciously, either by being louder and better than those around them, or more restrained and therefore superior to those who lose their cool.

TV Tropes

Angry White Man - He’s frequently exasperated by what he sees as overly generous attempts to incorporate minorities into the modern American cultural fabric (or not-so-modern, for that matter); media stereotypes of whites as stupid, unfashionable, and/or “un-ethnic”; the supposed scapegoating of white people for everything that goes wrong in the world; or occasionally just the general feeling that he soon might be the Last of His Kind. In more extreme cases, the very thought of homosexuals, women, and ethnic groups enjoying the same comforts as him is enough to make him cry oppression. Will as often as not be played for comedy. If not… watch out!

Dad the Veteran - Whether he’s a Standard ‘50s Father or an Overprotective Dad, he’s capable of being a real hardcase in the right circumstances. Yes, even the Dads who appear to be nothing but creampuff can be tough guys when they need to be, and he bases it all on his years of military service.

Disability as an Excuse for Jerkassery - Contrary to many people’s preconceptions that disabled people are all nice or otherwise pleasant to be around much like many depictions of the Magical Differently Abled Person, disability does not prevent the person with it from being an unpleasant person. Some will even use their “illness” to get away with saying things that are at best inappropriate, and at worst outright offensive.

Even Evil Has Loved Ones - Being evil doesn’t always mean hatred and negativity 24/7. Even evil characters (and real people) can find someone to love. Often, that love is twisted, a cause for villainy, or an act but sometimes a work can show an evil character’s love is genuine and deep. This serves to humanize the character, to give the hero doubts about fighting him/her, or to provide a weakness for the hero to exploit.

War Hawk - When a tense situation between countries, factions, or nations breaks out, there will usually be those who advocate going to war as the only option. They tend to be extremely aggressive and vocal in their position, and may view those who dismiss warfare as an option as cowards or idealists. War Hawks will often appeal to the general population for support to bring pressure on their ideological opponents to declare war.

#cbc.challenge #cbcchallenge #challenge;

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theonceoverthinker · 6 years ago

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OUAT 4X08 - Smash the Mirror

Am I reviewing two episodes at once, or is this just a MIRROR-age?!:?! XD

...Told you I was funny.

Okay, I’ve said it before, but the best thing about this rewatch are the little surprises you find along the way while watching. This is one of them and I had a LOT to say about just how good it really was. So, if you want to join me under the cut, maybe we’ll have some fun!

Main Takeaways

Past

I love how this episode holds to the spirit of “Frozen” in that Anna and Elsa’s love is more powerful than Ingrid’s manipulation. I think it was a great writing decision that allowed for the actual story of the episode to go in a much cooler (pardon the pun) story with a much more tragic twist to take place as a result. Additionally, the reveal scene of this story twist is such a fantastic moment! It’s beautifully orchestrated for the intense mood the scene starts out with. And the acting as Elsa plays the guards is just so real and hysterical in hindsight! Even still, once the ruse was revealed, I was grinning like a fool.

Really, Anna and Elsa are the heart of this segment (Favorite Dynamic was next to IMPOSSIBLE for this two-parter). Literally EVERY scene that they share bathes us is their love for one another. In every scene of this flashback, these two were either holding each other close, goofing off, throwing bits of wit at each other, or some combination of the three. We see their post-”Frozen” sisterhood and because “Frozen” ended just as they reconciled, that’s something we didn’t get to see a lot of at the time of this episode’s airing. But here, their dynamic is celebrated and given a giant fireworks display!

And I LOVE how this extends to the tragic ending of the story. Elsa, faced with so much anger and resentment from Anna and Ingrid egging her on, fucking REFUSES to betray her sister. Even as this is an ultimate loss, it is still a triumph! And that’s because Ingrid basically had to cheat to win. It took what basically amounted to Deus Ex Machina’s next door neighbor to split these two up and that’s just too beautiful!

Present

There’s a real solid heart to this episode that for me, was somewhat lacking in the past few episode, either due to a lack of focus or just a lack of understanding of what was needed to do with their characters for the stories they wanted to tell.

Now, I’m going to talk about what I found to be the two biggest aspects of this segment, but first, I want to take some time to address some of the smaller bits.

First off, a relatively minor moment, but something that was important to me was Snow’s call in Part 1. I really appreciate that not only was Snow the one to answer the phone, but she wasted NO time apologizing to Emma for her behavior in the last episode. That was so necessary and upon seeing this episode again, it really restored a lot of my love for Snow. And the way Snow insists that this apology matters when Emma says it doesn’t was incredibly heartwarming! AND the way that this attitude prevails throughout the episode is even better!

Second, also from Part 1 is the conversation Snow and David have in their bedroom about whether or not Emma should give up her magic. It’s a scene like this that makes me happy that this episode was done in two parts. It’s allowed to be a slow, semi-detailed, character filled conversation. David and Snow can be fleshed out in regards to their thought processes. Snow is so full of regret and really wants to learn from the mistake she made in the last episode. For her, taking the opposite approach to Emma’s magic is that (And rightly). And David cares about Emma’s autonomy, showing support for her choice. Both approaches are done out of love, well meaning, and supportive, and while Emma doesn’t give up her magic, the validity and love from her parents on display in this scene. And I also love how Elsa becomes a third party in this scene. Elsa knows as someone who has powers that they can be something that makes someone special and more importantly can be controlled. She doesn’t want Emma to give up her magic because she knows that this is just as much an act of self-loathing as much as it is a means of protection for those she loves. And that determines her to, upon hearing the conclusion Snow and David reach, take fate into her own hands.

Third, ALSO from Part 1 (And sort of Part 2), while I hated “The Apprentice,” I LOVE the resolution to it. Killian’s voicemail apologizing to Emma is something that’s so amazing to me. Killian holds nothing back as he exposes how he knows what Rumple’s capable of thanks to that hat. His remorse and regret is so strong and sincere and it shows how despite Rumple’s claims, he really does want to be and is becoming a better man. And as further evidence, Killian tries to actually morally persuade Rumple not to hurt Emma. He’s not just spewing threats at him, but is actually starting to use his heart to convince even his greatest enemy not to hurt someone. As for the rest of this scene, I’ll see you shortly to talk about that. ;)

Fourth, now onto Part 2, I want to do something different and combine two scenes: Regina and Henry’s talk upstairs and Regina’s subsequent takedown of Snow and David. I find that these two scenes are deeply connected and while talking about them apart would be great, talking about them together might be better! Regina’s words about denying Henry his specialness is made so much better because of the Regal Believer scene it soon follows. You see how Regina has come to not only respect that specialness of Henry’s, but to adore it and regret shunning it before. This is some fantastic evidence of all of Regina’s growth and fills in an important piece of the Regal Believer puzzle. You see her criticize that past action and Lana sells that calm regret that Regina has so well! And then Regina passes the advice along to Snow and David. This might be one of my favorite instances of Regina reflecting her teachings onto another because the specific circumstances of the situation she’s relating are a lot more domestic in their origins and yet equal in a sense between the points of comparison. I’ll illuminate my point a bit better in the next spot, but it’s important when making comparisons for common ground between two characters to be common in both substance and impact and the impact of Emma giving up her magic is painted with an urgency that brings that and Regina’s behavior towards Henry in Season 1 to a point where that commonness is felt.

Fifth, we gotta talk about Snow and Regina’s talk on the road. First, I wish Regina’s line about whether or not doing good things in order to be redeemed truly has the value of doing good been expanded on more. It was the most interesting thing to come out of Snow and Regina’s conversation and just like the conversations and scenes I gushed about above, I think it had the potential to be just as good a diving more into Regina’s redemption arc. Second, ”You know how selfish and shallow I could be as a child.” ...I hate this line. Being a pain in the ass child is not in the same legion as Regina’s crimes and in a conversation that has so much more potential for depth, I hate that this was the narrative point they decided to go for. Hell, why didn’t Snow instead vaguely allude to what went down with Maleficent? We’d have gotten better foreshadowing and an example of evil from Snow that would serve to put them more on the same level, making the conversation so much stronger. BUT that all having been said, I really like how the conversation ends. It’s not that deep, but it does touch upon the point that while change isn’t happening as fast as Regina wants it to, her choice to make good decisions rather than poor ones is how she’ll change her life for the better.

Finally, sixth, the heart stealing. You KNEW I was gonna talk about this and YES! Let’s do it!!! In many ways, the start of this scene feels very much like an ending. Killian’s celebrating Emma’s safety and looking to free himself while Rumple mourning his loss. BUT I love the sharp turn this scene takes as Rumple slowly reveals what’s next to come, namely for Killian. @lillpon did an AMAZING analysis of this scene that I can’t find, but does SUCH justice to the slow and methodical way Killian’s realization and subsequent horror plays out. Seeing Killian wiggle around terrified, panicked, and desperate is a horrifying experience to watch, but not a narratively poor one at all. It’s the real star of the Golden Hook arc of Season 4 for me and the best chunk of narrative that they get throughout the series (I’ll have some explaining to do in season 7, won’t I? Not saying it’s bad, but not as good as what we see now). There’s such menace in Rumple’s voice with every line spoken and unlike in “The Apprentice,” the promise of this scene is completely delivered on and that’s why I love it. We see the torture Rumple inflicts on Killian’s body and morals over the course of the next few episodes and it hurts because we see how Killian tried to change his ways. But it doesn’t matter. Because he’s Rumple’s puppet now.

Okay, now onto the big points about this segment, namely, our two real mains: Rumple and Emma.

Rumple is amazing in this episode. His villainy blossoms in such a spectacular way that it’s really something to behold! First off, let’s start with his introduction. I LOVE the reveal of Emma’s presence in Rumple’s shop. While it’s a slow moment and honestly probably could’ve been cut from the episode, it’s nonetheless a COOL moment. I love how all of Rumple’s baubles slowly go off one by one as we build to the reveal that not only is Emma in the shop, but that Rumple’s not at all surprised nor freaked out by it. He knows what Emma’s up to and he uses his knowledge of Ingrid’s scheme as well as the story that Emma tells him about Henry to his full advantage. Rumple presses just the right buttons as to maximize Emma’s fear and get her to agree to whatever it is that she needs to in order to protect those that she loves. His most every move is sinister, whether he’s gloating at Ingrid, manipulating Emma, or torturing Killian. Scary Rumple is honestly my favorite Rumple we get this in droves. When Rumple CAN reveal his plans or intentions, he becomes terrifying and Robert Carlyle sells every terrifying chuckle, word, and sneer and when he needs to play it cool for Emma, the shift to acting like someone not entirely unselfish but not entirely selfish either gives this story a perfect pinch of dramatic irony.

It’s sickening, but in the absolute best way. Rumple’s the Iago of this story and while not entirely bereft of nuance, the narrative makes no qualms about that fact.

There’s this great moment in the mansion where for all that Rumple’s manipulating Emma, he’s also being so honest with her about who he is. Perhaps it’s because he believes she’s gonna die soon or just because of the dynamic they’ve had so far, but Rumple is refreshingly honest and praising of Emma and how she’s different from him. And it’s a risk on his part. It’s possible his words might convince Emma to be selfish or that Ingrid’s words might still play a part in her decision over what to do or that Emma might just ask too many questions, but he’s confident she won’t and he has this self loathing that for better or worse, does need to come out to someone inconsequential. And he chooses Emma. That “thank you” that she gives him guts me, as does his response. It’s a scary scene that is also full of soul.

And Emma...just Emma. For all the talk of Emma running away, I feel like this is just as much about Emma not wanting to run and doing what she can to not have to. She keeps her family posted about what’s going on with her, regularly expresses her love to them, and makes a decision about her magic so she can go back to them. Her love for her friends and family is made so evident by Emma’s every move and Jen’s acting here is fantastic in showing that balance of love and fear, giving an extra layer of nuance to the character.

Finally, let’s talk about Emma and Elsa’s talk. The speech is so well nurtured by who these two characters are. Their understandings of fear, rejection, powerlessness, and sense of being overpowered by themselves are big parts of common ground between them, making Elsa the absolute best person to relate to Emma’s troubles. Additionally, the conversation discusses self love in this fantastic and tangible way. When it comes to themes, this is the most an episode can give me. Elsa points out the personal responsibility in loving and accepting yourself. Loving both the good and bad parts of one’s powers and destiny is a hard thing in the universe of OUAT, especially when those things can risk causing real harm. But it’s something that can be done and for yourself and all those that love you, must be done. This scene emphasizes this and Elsa and Emma’s bond raises everything to new heights.

That woosh of acceptance and control that results of this conversations is BEYOND earned. It feels like another hurdle that Emma’s overcome and her pain throughout the episode makes it such a strong accomplishment. Emma and Elsa are True Friendship and True Love!

All Encompassing

This is such a dynamic episode in terms of aesthetics, too! We see cool effects like the mirror lakes reappear, and great bits of editing and cinematography that enhance the writing by showing things like distance and loneliness through camera and even prop angles. And the cuts and usages of lighting, particularly as they pertain to Emma’s rampant magic are really exciting! They leave a constant tension and sense of danger across the span of the episode and really bring the entire experience of watching this two-parter to life.

Stream of Consciousness

-It’s always a sign of a fun time when you have a motherfucking mirror lake of editing goodness!!!! Hell yeah!

-Ingrid, when you need someone’s help and you can’t threaten them, it doesn’t do you well to insult them by calling them “past your prime.”

-”Especially those that have succumbed to the darkness…” Ingrid hasn’t really done anything like that. Killing Helga was an accident, defeating Hans’ guards was self-defense, and while imprisoning Anna was dark...I mean, have you MET the people in this universe?! XD

-”Do you think I was foolish enough to bring it with me?” RUMPLE, TAKE NOTES!!!

-”My sisters could never accept who I was because they were...ordinary.” Helga accepted you and Gerda did too until she falsely thought you murdered her sister!

-Damn, Sean rocks that tank top! <3 Like, I want him in that tank top in a remake of “Die Hard.”

-”Hey, this isn’t your fault.” Well, it’s more her fault than it is yours.

-Now I just want to know just what that spell Rumple threw out actually WAS!

-”I will never take this off again.” I teared up at this fucking line. Anna loves Elsa so much and I’m LIVING for it!

-”You may want to finish buttoning your shirt first.” This moment had me laughing HARD!

-THE MIRROR LAKE SHOWS UPPPPPP!

-Speaking of mirrors, I ADORE the shot of Elsa and Anna looking into the shattered sight mirror for the first time. They’re in the same shot, but because of the way the mirror is shattered, there’s this sense of distance created and it’s reflected in the main shot of the two sisters too. The editing team did a GREAT job here!

-”Unless...you simply like watching me.” Did Ingrid just make a pass at Rumple?! XD

-I love how Anna and Elsa, while being sneaky, are just having the BEST time on this mission and Elsa can’t even fully hide her amusement at Anna’s quip.

-Opening hours until 10? “Very generous” indeed!

-I really love the Regal Believer scene we see! Regina’s speech to Henry about his usefulness and contributions is really heartwarming and connects with Henry in a loving and intelligent way!

-Going back to my point about Ingrid and Rumple, the Netflix still for Part 2 is Ingrid and Rumple getting all up in each other’s business!!! XD I feel like other people need to start shipping this!! Golden Frost?

-Ingrid’s “surprise” was so adorable!!!

-When we see Rumple walk to meet Emma in the mansion, it looks like he’s in a freakin’ church! XD

-I’m HC’ing that Rumple turned on all of those lights as to spook Emma even further.

-I know it’s more of a matter of convenience, but why didn’t Rumple just go for the fairies’ first? Like, he says basically that Emma’s not his first choice to die for the hat, and he HATES the fairies, so why not?

-Elsa offering Anna all the chocolate she can eat is the most beautiful thing in the world!

-”Eventually, everyone sees me as a monster.” YOU LITERALLY JUST FORCED ANNA TO TRAP HER SISTER AND KRISTOFF SAID HE WOULDN’T HURT YOU IF YOU LET HER GO! FUCK THAT NOISE!

-I like that Ingrid apparently spent hours playing what basically amounts to Patty Cake with the magical barrier, all the while probably never sitting while standing in heels! XD

Favorite Dynamic

Swan Believer. While there were SO MANY good dynamics in this episode and Emma and Elsa’s dynamic especially is a really great moment of understanding for Emma’s character and a great heart to the episode, I feel like that moment is only as great as it is because of how well it was set up by Emma and Henry’s opening scene. I love that they chose Henry as the person to find Emma and be injured under her powers. It’s not only an organic and really heartbreaking scene as Emma freaks out about how she hurt Henry, but it really does make Emma’s mood throughout the rest of the two-parter make so much sense. It’s a hard scene to watch, but I mean that in the best way possible. Emma is doing everything she can to explain how she can’t be with Henry at the moment and Henry, the believer, of course, will not bend down so easily. The scene, like Emma’s rampant magic, is pulsing with love and danger. And the moment where Henry finds blood on himself is so crushing because it erases any hope that even Emma’s biggest source of support can turn her around right now. And this moment between them creates a tragic and urgent tone that follows the present segment of the episode throughout its run. Emma’s desperation and panic all comes from that moment between the two of them. I only wish that their reunion was a liiiiiiiiittle stronger, but I do find it forgivable. Given how happy Emma and Henry are and their hug, it works well enough.

Writer

David Goodman and Jerome Schwartz are a fucking dream team here! The name of the game in this episode is strength. These two took advantage of every second they had in this double episode to give each of their dynamics the strength they needed to support the story. The stories in both the past and present are actually so simple in their broad strokes -- Emma tries to give up her magic and Anna and Elsa work together to stop Ingrid -- but the simplicity of the narrative allows for much deeper conversations to take place. And they’re all given the time to reach that organic conclusion and as a result, I love each and every one of them.

Rating

DOUBLE GOLDEN APPLE!!! WHAT AN AMAZING EPISODE! I’m not gonna lie. I GROANED at the thought of covering this double episode because of its length, but this episode kept my attention and love practically the ENTIRE time! We get two fantastic stories that really involved their present casts, superb conversations across the span of the episode. I was floored by just how much I ended up liking this one, but it really touched me in just the right way!

Flip My Ship - The Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness”

Captain Swan - I love the two second shot of Killian when David says that they need to pour the locator spell over something of Emma’s! XD Yup that’s accurate! Golden Hook - Rumple chains Killian up and literally takes his heart. Jenna’s very happy now and that’s really all I need to say about that! XD

Golden Frost (Ingrid/Rumple) - When I woke up today, I didn’t expect to end my day shipping Rumple and Ingrid, but it fucking happened and I love it! Seriously, Ingrid and Rumple all but dry hump in this episode. They constantly get all up in each other’s businesses and the threats don’t take me out of that as much as you’d think!!! XD

Outlaw Queen - I love the bit of banter Robin and Regina have at the library where Regina points out that Robin stole Henry’s book from her and Robin says “you knew I was a thief when you met me.” I know it’s such a small thing to point out, but I LOVE that bit of wit exchanged! It’s cute, flirty, and fast!

-----

The best part of doing these reviews is finding episodes like these. They’re episodes that I don’t remember that well apart from a few scene and expect to not find all that much apart from said scenes, but end up doing so much for me emotionally. This, while an exhausting review to write for its meatiness, was so worth every exhausting second of it.

Thank you SO much for reading this if you did! This review was a pleasure to write! And thank you to the fine folks at @watchingfairytales and @daensarah for being the coolest human in existence! (And hey, if you want to be on the tag list for these reviews, hit me up!) Anyway, I can’t wait to see you all during “Fall.” TTFN!

Season 4 Total (69/230) Tee-hee! XD

Writer Scores: Adam and Eddy: (16/60) Jane Espenson: (10/40) David Goodman and Jerome Schwartz: (30/50) Andrew Chambliss: (14/50) Dana Horgan: (6/30) Kalinda Vazquez: (14/40) Scott Nimerfro: (6/30)

*Links to the rest of my rewatch will no longer be provided. They take posts with links outside of searches and I spend way too much time on these reviews to not give them that kind of exposure. Sorry for the inconvenience, but they still can be found on my page under Operation Rewatch.

#ouat #once upon a time #watching fairytales #ouat 4x08 #ouat rewatch #jenna watches ouat

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daresplaining · 6 years ago

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Daredevil Countdown: 8 Days

Trailer #1 Analysis

We barely had time to recover from Iron Fist Season 2 before Netflix started dumping Daredevil content on us, and it’s been tough to keep up! We were away minding our own business at NYCC when this trailer dropped, and we’ve only just started to pick through it. There are some major revelations in this thing, which I’m very excited about. There are also a few scenes excerpted here that we saw in their entirety at NYCC, so while I’ll try to keep spoilers to a minimum, expect some minor ones.

Is it geeky to get a kick out of Matt saying this? Because this makes me really happy. He has spent so much time struggling with his superhero identity that just hearing him call himself Daredevil is thrilling. Also, the background seems to suggest that he’s in the church, and may therefore be saying this to Maggie... which is good, because in one of the scenes we saw at NYCC, she called him “the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen” and I nearly pitched a fit.

We saw this scene, so I won’t go into details... beyond saying that it kicks off what sounds like will be an interesting (read: upsetting) relationship between Fisk and the FBI, and as well as Fisk’s manipulation of the justice system and the city as a whole this season. He is getting out of prison and aiming to reclaim his throne, and this trailer gives us hints of some of the pawns he will be using to make that happen.

Hey look, it’s Rosalie Carbone!

And we’ve mentioned it before, because it’s been in a bunch of the promos, but it’s great to finally have Fisk in his comics-accurate white suit! He looks great.

We’re also finally getting Sister Maggie! In the comics, of course, Maggie is Matt’s long-lost mother. In the show, we know that she works at the orphanage where Matt ended up after Jack’s death, and that she will be providing him some degree of emotional support (not to mention medical help...) following his near-death experience under Midland Circle. Their relationship is very strange, and in the comics they’ve spent a long time trying to negotiate their dynamic. They go back and forth on their degree of emotional closeness (depending on the writer), and while they will likely never have a parent/child relationship in the traditional sense, they do hold deep significance in each other’s lives. Whether that will become true in the show remains to be seen, but at the very least, Maggie will clearly act as a confidante for Matt during this difficult time.

This is one of several highly intriguing interactions between Matt and Fisk in this trailer. The surveillance is particularly interesting. It ties into the suggestion later in the trailer that Fisk will develop some control over media surveillance (in the comics he buys his own radio station during Chichester’s run). It also gives me a small amount of hope that we might get expert media manipulator Jonathan Powers (AKA the Jester) in the show, because that would be really cool. But why is Matt in a doctor’s office in a suit? The framing of this scene is great, and I really need to know what’s going on here.

Matt channeling that Stick vibe is something I never knew I needed. And this is another intriguing interaction between these two. What is the context here? For now, I love how cocky Matt sounds in this clip. Clearly, his spirit has not been broken (yet?) by this point.

At NYCC, there was some mention of a scene that would rival the hallway scene from Season 1. This may be it. I’m already pumped about this, because I love when Matt fights in civvies! If I were to guess what was going on here, I’d assume these are prisoners in Fisk’s pocket who have been instructed to take Matt out. This has serious “Devil in Cell Block D” (a story arc in which Matt is sent to prison) vibes, and that is very exciting. Whether or not the actual story draws from that arc, just a reference to the tone or basic concept would be awesome.

After two full seasons of teasing, we’re finally getting a Gladiator origin! Back in our Season 2 countdown, I wrote a post detailing Melvin Potter’s story in the comics, hoping that it would be adapted soon. The show has already laid down several key elements of his character: his vulnerability (particularly in regards to being manipulated by the people around him) and the tug-of-war between his gentle nature and his capacity for violence. In the comics, many of Melvin’s most compelling stories cover this struggle, as Matt and Betsy Beatty (Melvin’s social worker-turned-girlfriend) attempt to help him suppress the dangerous, out-of-control side of himself. As we see later in the trailer, Fisk is going to start using Melvin for his own ends again this season, thus pushing him to protect himself and Betsy by becoming the Gladiator.

Yet another oddly candid moment between Matt and Fisk. This is so uncanny that I almost wonder if it’s a hallucination. It’s also worth noting Matt’s lack of sunglasses in these scenes. In both the comics and the show, the glasses serve Matt as a type of mask, and his scenes are given an added layer of intimacy and exposure when he takes them off. Regardless of context, it’s clear that Fisk will be seeing Matt this season at his most vulnerable, with all facades and pretext removed. Which brings us to that quote...

Get excited, because it looks like we’re finally getting some big deal Daredevil Secret Identity Shenanigans(TM)! Matt having his secret identity exposed is a longtime Daredevil tradition; such a pervasive plot point that even Matt has begun joking about it.

Daredevil vol. 3 #7 by Mark Waid, Paolo Rivera, and Javier Rodriguez

Going all the way back to the Mike Murdock Saga in the 60s, Matt has struggled with keeping his double life hidden-- a surprisingly challenging task for a blind guy without outwardly obvious superpowers. Ben Urich figured it out through research and deduction, and while he has remained loyal in keeping Matt’s secret, a fellow reporter once nearly stole his notes and made them public. In “Born Again”, the Kingpin found out and used the information to ruin his life. Later, one of the Kingpin’s underlings sold the information to the FBI, which then made its way into the newspapers. Recently, with his secrets being used as blackmail, Matt decided to make his identity public. He has gone to extreme lengths over the years-- faking his death, lying under oath, creating various alternate personalities-- to protect his dual identity, and the thought of seeing him finally faced with this same challenge in the show is very exciting.

Melvin: “I don’t like it. I know who you work for, Felix. And the Kingpin is never up to anything good.”

Felix: “What is there not to like, Potter? You construct costumes. I am heretowith commissioning from yourself a costume. Said costume being one you are infinitely familiar with-- during such time frame as before you did renunciate your status as a prominent member of the criminal class to open this shop within which we now converse. Speaking of this most neatly custodiated establishment, we will summarily execute its premature demolition-- not to mention the removement [sic] of your most valued body parts-- should you perchance fail to render unto us a perfect duplicate of the uniform of a certain Man Without Fear.”

Daredevil vol. 1 #230 by Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli, and Christie Scheele

As we know, that’s going to be Bullseye’s costume. This is a combination of two plot points: one from “Born Again” (above) in which Fisk commissions a DD suit from Melvin to give to a convicted murderer, who he sends to kill Foggy, and one from Nocenti’s run in which Bullseye himself runs around causing chaos as Daredevil.

As indicated above (and just like he attempted in Season 1), Fisk is out to ruin Daredevil (and maaaaybe also Matt Murdock?)’s reputation, even more than Matt might manage all on his own.

This is a terrifying image, because it brings to mind Karen’s funeral in “Guardian Devil”. But a bunch of the people in the audience are smiling, so hopefully not...

...Unfortunately, they’re still screwed. Bullseye in the church is both a “Guardian Devil” reference and (even better) a movie reference!

We were shown this scene at NYCC, and it is awesome! I can’t wait for everyone to see it, so that I can talk about what makes it so great. It’s an absolutely killer fight scene that emphasizes just how intense Bullseye is as an opponent when handled well. And I’m not going to spoil this moment in particular... All I’ll say is that it’s something we’ve all been waiting for for two damn seasons, and when it happened at the panel, the whole room screamed.

*Cough* Don’t worry, that’s not Bullseye.

Also, there is not nearly enough Foggy and Karen in this trailer.

Bullseye: “Yup! I’m Daredevil now. I wonder-- it’s been easy to play the bad guy-- maybe too easy. Be kinda fun to play the hero. After all, I am Daredevil!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #290 by Ann Nocenti, Kieron Dwyer, and Steve Buccellato

As mentioned above, Bullseye will be prompted by Fisk to run around as Daredevil, ruining Matt’s reputation. Both actors have talked a little bit about Fisk’s manipulation of Dex, and the fact that this will play a large part in the latter’s turn to villainy. In the final arc of her run, Ann Nocenti penned a story in which Bullseye and Daredevil switched costumes, resulting in an intense exploration of villainy and heroism, and of their bizarre relationship as nemeses. In the show, it should be fun-- and probably a little horrifying too-- to see how this jumbling of identities affects how Matt and Dex see themselves and each other.

T-minus one week!

#Daredevil spoilers #Netflix Daredevil #Daredevil #Commentary #DD Countdown #Sorry this is so late! Busy day.

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codynaomiswireart · 6 years ago

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“Gauze in the Wound” - Part 13

Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12

Wow, this story just keeps getting harder and harder to write! Sorry about the long wait for this chapter. Hopefully it's worth it though.

Also, bringing some more OC's into the mix! Usually, when writing fan fiction, I try not to add too many new characters that aren't canon, but with the way the story's going/will go, it just feels called for this time around.

Sabine and Pontus character descriptions for those who are curious - https://codynaomiswireart.tumblr.com/post/174347636560/tangled-the-series-ocs-sabine-and-pontus-have

Elsewhere, deep in one of the forests of the Seven Kingdoms, a bright white stag went bounding through the thickets as the elder eagle screed overhead, relating to the king of the wood the stirrings that were occurring at this very hour in the kingdom of Equis. Help was surely to be needed soon, destiny was at hand, and they must make all haste if they were to make it in time.

With a sweet, keening call, the stag announced his arrival at the cottage in the glen where a single lantern glowed dim in the dark shade of the moonlit canopy, marking the front gate to what appeared to be a meager, humble abode. A few seconds later, another glow came alight inside the thatched-roofed cottage, and a figure carrying the light could be seen dimly through the windows as they made their way to the front door.

“Oh, Pontus!” Sabine greeted the hart with a gentle, wrinkled hand in his bright white muzzle. “What is it old friend? What’s happened?”

With a few more grunts, gestures, and a trilling interjection from the elder eagle as he alighted by the door, Sabine was able to get enough of the message to understand.

“Great trouble in Equis. Must go immediately. We will lead you there.”

“Right-o then,” Sabine said as she beckoned her woodland comrades into her cottage. Such a sight would’ve been seen as counterintuitive to anyone who did not know the magic of that house, but in reality, there was almost no faster way to get around the forests of the Seven Kingdoms than via Sabine’s Safe House.

“To Equis then,” Sabine announced as she turned the dials and lit up the crystals on the old, enchanted astrolabe mounted to the back of the front door. The dark blue glasswork behind it shimmered with various constellations and planetary symbols as the device came alight, and the whole frame of that house vibrated and groaned like a rapidly growing tree before becoming completely still again moments later. This done, Sabine hurriedly grabbed a dark cloak, first-aid kit, and her trusty winding staff that sat waiting to the side of the door. Then she and her company stepped their way back out over the threshold and into a whole other part of the Seven Kingdoms, now within the territory of Equis.

“Lead on you two!” Sabine said as she mounted up onto Pontus’s back, and the stag and eagle rushed off towards the south and west where they could sense fateful battle was soon to be at hand.

“Varian!” Xavier yelped in surprise from the back of the crowd, having just recovered from the shock of seeing Varian, Queen Arianna, and a giant feral Ruddiger of all things standing between them and the separatists’ hideout. By now, the separatists themselves were scrambling to get back up from the ground, and were getting into a defensive formation as they readied their bows and blades to combat the new, unexpected threat that stood in their way.

“Xavier, are you all right?” Varian called back to him, his voice serious as both he and Arianna stood poised to strike with their weapons aimed at the crowd. Ruddiger’s throat vibrated with low warning growls, deterring any sudden movements or shots fired from the opposing side. As the beast flexed his huge muscles under his thick, leathery hide, it was clear to the archers that no arrows would be taking him down easily.

“Varian! Y-you shouldn’t be here!” Xavier exclaimed, his tone somewhere between frightened and livid. “And your majesty! What were you two thinking!? You should’ve stayed safe back at the castle! Don’t you realize what could happen if they got a hold of-!?”

“Eeeeeeeeeee! Ha ha ha!”

Suddenly, a sharp, screeching, completely unanticipated cry of delight shattered the tense atmosphere, and all eyes couldn’t help but stop and turn to its source.

“Oh my gosh brother, you were right!” the lady spy said as she clapped her hands together and bounced like a child on the balls of her feet, her eyes wide with wonder as they fixed on the shaggy behemoth that stood before them. “Ha ha ha! Look at him! Isn’t he just amazing? He he! And SO cute!”

Varian blinked a couple times, completely thrown for a few seconds by the randomness of having someone gush over Ruddiger in his giant beast form, and during such a time of crisis as this. Varian glanced bewilderedly back and forth between his gigantic, snarling guardian and the lady separatist who beamed up at him as if she’d just seen the most adorable of kittens playing with a ball of yarn on the carpet at home.

“Awwww, aren’t you just the best thing ever! C-can I pet him, please?”

“You stand back!” Varian yelled, and Ruddiger roared defensively in response to the urgency of his master’s voice. The Saporian agent let out another series of giggles as he did so, though she did step back a pace or two at their warning.

“Now, let’s try this again,” Varian began, and pausing as Queen Arianna now made to speak.

“In the name of King Frederic of Corona, and I, her majesty Queen Arianna, we demand that you release Xavier of Corona. If you fail to comply, you will taste the wrath of the crown and our allies, and suffer the consequences.”

“Never!” the commander shouted to the queen in reply. “How dare you make such a threat to Saporia, you Coronian scum! You have no authority here in Equis, and we outnumber you ten to one! All of you!” the commander called back to his comrades. “Ready your weapons, and attack on my signal!”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Varian said, his voice now turning astoundingly cool and confident, and his face even managing a small sneer as he reached into the pack at his hip and pulled out several glowing vials. Fanning them out between the fingers of his free hand, Varian tried to look as confident and intimidating as he could, given his age and current stature. Which, surprisingly, ended up begin quite a bit, especially given the stark contrast between light and shadow that was splashed across his features in the pale light of the full moon behind him, and the glowing vials he held at the ready.

“Unless you guys just really want to be run over by several hundred pounds worth of sheer muscle, feel the pain of several thousand pounds per square inch of jaw strength sink into your guts, and taste the cold steel and bitter chemicals of ancient alchemy, I suggest you all stand down, right now.”

Arianna’s eyes narrowed, and she had to struggle to withhold any words of annoyance at Varian’s deliberately leaving her out of his equation for their fighting force (not that this exclusion surprised her, given how obstinate he could be). And she also tried not to shudder at Varian’s drastic change in tone as he said those harsh words with such smugness, for it was very unnerving to see how quickly Varian could shift his apparent mood when he felt the need. Only minutes ago, he had been near to tears at seeing Ruddiger’s painful transformation, and had comforted the creature with words and gestures so tender that it was hard to believe he had been capable of any villainy at all. But now, Arianna felt a chill run down her spine as Varian re-donned that snarky, twisted, hostile demeanor that he had taken on that one fateful day, and that always left one with a moment of doubt upon witnessing it as to whether or not the boy had actually ever displayed any such tenderness before in his life.

The difference was truly night and day – a contrast as stark as the light and shadow that currently outlined his features.

“At least we’re on the same side this time,” Arianna thought to herself as she worked to hold her bow steady, and she felt her arms begin to ache with the effort to hold it taut before her. She really hoped this confrontation would end soon, and with their victory. …Somehow. “I hope you have a plan Varian.”

Meanwhile, Varian did his best to maintain his show of confident control as they faced the line of Saporian warriors, and he tried desperately to hide the fears growing behind the mask that was his smirking expression. While Varian’s original plans (the ones before factoring in a giant Ruddiger that is) had been to depend more on stealth and trickery rather than any direct confrontation in pulling off this mission (a tactic that had worked extremely well for him in the past), that option was no longer viable given the separatists’ proximity to their headquarters, and Ruddiger’s sudden new show of muscle. As such, the next best outcome was to avoid any physical conflict through intimidation of the Saporian forces, and simply get them to surrender Xavier back to them peaceably. For if there was one thing that Varian’s time as a rival to Rapunzel and Corona had taught him, it was that a display of power could do wonders for getting your enemies to cooperate with you, whether you actually had that power at your disposal or not.

True, Varian had actually been quite powerful back then. And with Ruddiger and a few tricks up Varian’s sleeves, it could be argued that he still had some power in a sense here and now.

But it wasn’t anything like what Varian had had before, and there were plenty of disadvantages and doubts to be factored in. But Varian couldn’t have afforded to have that show back then, and he couldn’t afford it now. It was all mind games really in the end, and Varian had to make sure that he didn’t lose this round. So, Varian dug deep and resurrected that part of himself that delighted (or seemed to delight) in such things as this, and did all he could to project that as he stood his ground, looking his enemies in the eyes.

But again, Varian found himself thrown for a moment as he threats were met not with the commander backing down, nor with the next likely response of a hailstorm of arrows sent their way. …But with a slow applause.

“Well played master alchemist!” the one whom the lady agent had referred to as “brother” now said as he took a couple steps forward, giving off a few slow claps as he did so. “Well played indeed! It appears things have come to an impasse now, wouldn’t you say?”

“Wha- …what are you talking about!?” the commander shouted at the male spy, looking as confused as Varian and Arianna – though with an added dash of anger – as he rounded on his comrade. “This is no time for exchanging pleasantries! Have you also gone mad tonight!? Ugh! Everyone else! If we rush them now we can take them! On my mark! All of you! Ready, ai- Gah!”

Varian’s eyes widened, and for a split second he’d thought that Queen Arianna had let fly one of her own arrows, and that Varian had somehow missed seeing it fly through the air. But as the commander fell forward, Varian realized the shocking truth.

He’d been hit from behind! By one of his own men!

“My apologies,” the male spy continued calmly as one of the larger agents came forward, slinging the limp body of the commander over his shoulder before retreating with him back behind the line of troops. “He is a rather short fuse I’m afraid, and it wouldn’t do at all to have him-”

“You…you monsters!” Arianna now cried out as she aimed her bow at the spy. “How-how could you kill one of your own like that!?”

“Hm? Oh, I see,” the male spy continued, not at all shaken by what had just transpired. “Now don’t go worrying your pretty royal head my dear. He’s merely unconscious. That would be a stun dart, not an arrow, that you would’ve seen sticking into his back.”

“But…but what about-?”

“When he wakes up? Tch! He won’t even remember the last few moments before he was hit. And when he does wake up, we’ll just tell him that you – our enemies – did it to him. Heh! Has worked several times before now, and he still doesn’t suspect a thing. Right lads?”

A series of snickers broke out from the rest of the troops at these words, and Varian and Arianna couldn’t help but exchange a fretful glance between themselves as they heard it. Had they all gone mad? And more still, if the Saporians had, did this make things easier or more dangerous for their own side?

“Enough of this!” Arianna tried again, feeling her queenly and motherly instincts for protection flare up inside of her as she once more aimed her arrow at the agent, who now seemed to have taken the lead as the commander was incapacitated. “This is your last warning! If you don’t return Xavier of Corona to our charge, we will have no choice but to attack!”

“No your majesty!” Xavier cried, but he was interrupted before he could say more.

“My dear, please, we do not want to fight,” the agent stated calmly as he put away his own weapon, and with the others all following suit. Varian and Arianna both frowned hard, neither one of them putting away their own weapons as heavy suspicion crept into both of their minds.

“Huh! Do you really expect us to believe that?” Queen Arianna retorted angrily. “You raided the forge, assaulted several of our citizens, kidnapped one of them, attempted to kidnap another, sabotaged our fleet, set fire to multiple buildings in our capital, and you still somehow expect us to believe you mean us no harm? Sorry, but we are not so foolish as that.”

“Oh, I didn’t say we didn’t mean you any harm my dear,” the agent continued to explain, both Varian and Arianna having to struggle to hide their confusion at this statement. “Mark my words your majesty, Saporia will rise again, and you, your king, and all your kindred will only be able to watch as we reclaim the land that was meant for our ancestors and their descendants.”

Varian thought this agent must either be incredibly brave, or else had a death wish like no other. Varian had never seen such steeliness in the queen’s eyes before, and it was a wonder to him that she didn’t let an arrow fly at the man here and now. But somehow, Arianna restrained herself, though her clenched jaw and furrowed brow testified to how close she was to delivering the first blow of a potential melee.

“But I do speak truly when I say that we do not want to fight. Not this night anyway.”

“Then hand Xavier over, and we can all go home,” Arianna growled through clenched teeth, the tip of her arrow glistening on the moonlight.

“Ha! Now you’re the one who is being rich, your majesty.” The male agent scoffed. “As I said before, we are currently at an impasse. And I see no reason why we should just hand the blacksmith back over to you without…some form of compensation for this action.”

“You wanna make a deal then? Well, I’ve got your deal,” Varian now made to interject before Arianna could reply again, and Arianna could feel her pulse quicken with anxiety as she wondered what Varian had in mind as he reached into his pack, letting the glowing vials drop back in, though still keeping the Demanitus steel sword pointed before him and his eyes looking forward at all times. After a second of shuffling about in his pack, Varian pulled out the book that contained the notes for creating Demanitus steel.

“Here’s the formula for creating Demanitus steel,” Varian said, not daring to glance at the looks of horror on Arianna or Xavier’s faces as he held it up for the agents to see. “The formula in exchange for Xavier. That’s my offer. Take it, or leave it.”

“NO VARIAN!” Xavier yelled. “Don’t give it to them! Not for me! My life isn’t worth endangering the lives of-!”

“Shut up you!” one of the burly agents guarding Xavier snapped at him. “Unless you want to be gagged or knocked out, you’ll shut your cakehole, see?”

Varian glared hard at the agent that yelled at Xavier, but quickly turned his attention back to their leader as he waited for his answer. He also tried to tune out Xavier’s desperate words against the action just now. Varian couldn’t afford to show any second-guessing. Not in this instance.

The male agent seemed to think hard for moment as he stroked a thoughtful hand across his goatee several times. He appeared to be genuinely considering the offer, and everyone waited with baited breath for his answer. After a moment, the agent gave a small nod. “You’ve got a deal, master alchemist.”

Varian couldn’t help but let out a small sigh of relief. “Right then,” he said as he made to step forward to make the trade, ignoring the feeling of Queen Arianna’s wide eyes on him as he moved forward. “Let’s get this over with.”

But just then, Varian was stopped as the agent raised a hand in signal for him to not come any closer.

“However,” the agent said in a tone that made Arianna and Xavier’s skin crawl, and Varian feel again on edge. “I would like to add another offer to our end of the deal, if quite agreeable to you of course.”

“Ugh, what is it?” Varian asked irritably, and tried hard not to show his growing sense of urgency, as he knew that it was only a matter of a few more minutes perhaps before Ruddiger resumed his normal, smaller form. If that happened, the impasse would no longer be held between the two sides. They didn’t have much more time, and Varian hated the idea of things stalling for too long.

Then, in response to Varian’s inquiry, the male spy brought his hand down from a “stop” signal…and instead held it out to Varian as if offering him a handshake, and his lips curled back into a smile.

“I offer for you, Varian, son of Quirin, the chance to join our ranks, to become one of our brethren, and to become part of the Separatists of Saporia.”

Varian couldn’t help but have his eyes go wide with surprise as he heard these words, and it was a whole couple seconds before he managed some sort of response. “What?” Varian asked the agent to repeat.

“I offer you a place among us, Varian,” the man repeated again, with his sister nodding enthusiastically behind him. “Join us, and be free of the shackles that is the kingdom of Corona!”

Arianna now began to feel her blood run cold, and she was forced to finally lower her bow a little as her arms began to shake, and her heart rate spiked in her chest. Arianna looked over at Varian, and though his expression was still stunned, and his eyebrows knit together in hard thought, she also detected a slight softening in his eyes as the man’s words began to sink in – their vocabulary obviously chosen very deliberately for Varian’s situation. And this was the final horror that made Arianna’s heart falter the most, as she detected the slightest lowering of Varian’s sword in response.

…He was actually considering it!

Xavier also detected this change in Varian’s countenance, and shook his head, trying to deny it, but not being able to do so honestly. “NO VARIAN, DON’T!” Xavier tried shouting again. “Don’t listen to him! He’s only trying to- mmpphfff!”

“I told you to keep quiet!” the burly agent standing next to him hissed as put a gag on Xavier.

“Hey! Leave him alone!” Varian yelled, his sword rising back up a few inches as he was momentarily snapped out of his thoughts at the sight of his mentor being handled so roughly. But before Varian could say any more to the effect, the male agent continued to speak.

“Steady on now my boy, we won’t hurt him. I give you my word that whatever you decide tonight, the old man will be free to go once our negotiations are complete. But again, I ask you Varian, will you not join us in our campaign against Corona? It is no secret to us that the king has held you prisoner these last several months. And for what? For you taking measures that were only called for because he couldn’t do his job properly, and left his kingdom and its citizens to crumble in the cataclysm that had been unleashed by the mysterious black rocks? What sort of a king is that who would abandon his people in their time of need? But we Saporians aim to fix that – to make a new kingdom that will care about its citizens, and not let the elite hide away in their towers while everyone else must suffer. I’m sure it is no slip of fate that we are meeting here now, and the king and his guards are nowhere near here. Would you really be such a fool as to let this opportunity of escape from their tyranny pass you by? To join forces with us, and get the justice you’ve waited so long for?”

…Varian’s own heart was beating loud in his ears now, a whole storm of emotions was beginning to rage inside of him, and his thoughts were flying thick and fast across his mind and his heart. It was a real strain to try to keep his expression somewhat neutral as the seconds ticked on by.

…It felt as if a layer of his old wounds was being reopened again, the man’s tempting offer pulling at the gauze that had been applied there over the last several months…

…Varian’s sword point lowered a little more.

“Varian-!” Arianna tried to interject at his side, hoping that somehow she would know what to say to him, and realizing how terribly the situation was suddenly turning against them. But the man interrupted her again.

“Besides, what have any of these people ever done for you that you should continue to serve them, eh?” he said. “What have they ever done to make up for what happened to you and to Old Corona? Are you not still waiting for recompense, or even a simple apology? Are they still not inhabiting their lofty towers, and coming down only when one of their own is in trouble? When one is deemed worthy of their time and attention? Did they not attack you those months ago and lead you away prisoner from your own home? A home you were left alone to defend because of their neglect? Where is the justice in all that?”

Varian’s sword lowered even further, his eyebrows scrunching together hard.

Arianna’s brain was working rapidly, trying desperately to come up with something – anything! – to say that would steer Varian away from disaster, but she couldn’t think of what to say. Behind the two of them, Ruddiger gave a small whimper as he could detect the distress whirring within the two of them, and also inside Xavier as he continued to struggle against the gag and his bindings that held him back tight.

Varian now moved to tuck the book of Demantius steel loosely into his pouch as he made to grasp his sword with two hands, for he looked as if the sword had suddenly felt too heavy for him to hold up with just one. It all felt so heavy – everything. And Varian wasn’t sure he could bear it anymore! Hardly even thinking about it, Varian found himself taking deep breathes again as Xavier had taught him, trying hard to keep himself together, feeling as if he was coming near to a metaphorical precipice, and trying to decide whether or not he should take the plunge right off it.

“And why not?” he couldn’t help but think to himself, his sword beginning to lower again. “He is right after all. You’ve never even gotten a single apology from any of the royals in this whole thing! They never even tried to-!”

[“Varian, I’m SO sorry, I didn’t mean-”]

“Pfft! Yeah, and a fat lot of good those stupid words did you! It’s not like Rapunzel actually came down from her ivory tower and actually did anything for you anyway. None of them came down to help you for anythi-”

[“I’m coming with you…You need me to do this.”]

“Oh…Well…Y-yes, the queen is here. True. She did do that. B-but she only did that because of Xavier remember? He’s really the only reason why she’s out here at all. Not you. That would be the ‘one of their own’ bit, remember? Xavier counts, but you don’t. Not like that. Not to them. You never have. You’ve always just been the child menace, the dangerous alchemist. You weren’t ever worthy of their time and attention. Not in their eyes. You’ve only been a means to an end for them really, when they actually did need your talents. Even when Rapunzel first sought you out, it was only for what you could do for her. I mean, who would even want to bother to go out of their own way for you and-”

[“I want you to be my apprentice.”]

“Ah…um…yeah, there is that isn’t there. …ALL of that...”

[“…You didn’t have to do all this for me. Really. But you did...”]

And…a-and it was with his help you got the sword in the first place, right? To free Dad? And Friedborg helping you with Latin? And Pete and Stan? You were glad Stan wasn’t dead after he took that dart in the raid, remember? As he was trying to protect everyone? And you didn’t like decking Pete like that either yesterday. They aren’t…bad guys, are they? Not really. And the Captain? Well…Not sure about him honestly, but he was worried about you when it looked like you may have been sick. Or when you had that night terror. There’s no doubt it would come to blows with them again if you joined the Separatists to fight them. Those guys would definitely die before they saw Corona overrun.

“…Would I really want to fight them again? See them get hurt? Would that even be justice?

[“You could go on being their enemy. Though – if I may be so bold as to point out – you have tried that already. Has it really been all that you wanted?”]

“But…don’t I deserve justice!? Don’t I want to see justice!?

“…What is justice?”

“What is justice?”

The words left Varian’s mouth before he could even think to stop himself, and all eyes stared at him in response.

“Hm? Sorry, what?” the man asked him, apparently thrown by Varian’s response with a question of his own, and his sword tip halted in its descent.

“W-what is justice?” Varian repeated, the question hanging in the air for a moment, sounding like a large, strange, rhetorical statement.

“What is- ? What kind of a question is that!?” the man’s sister now spoke up. “Pfft! Boy, those Coronians really did do a number on your brains didn’t they?”

“Please sister,” her brother scolded her. “No need to be rude to our newest recruit.”

“Hey, I haven’t agreed to anything yet!” Varian said back, trying hard to ignore the cringe that flashed across the queen’s face as he said “yet”. “And-and you didn’t answer my question. What is justice?”

“Duh! Everyone knows that, little brother!” the lady agent replied. “It’s people getting what’s coming to ‘em, that’s what! It’s kicking bad guys’ butts, really sockin’ it to ‘em, and making sure they don’t cause trouble anymore for the good folk. It’s dishin’ out just desserts to the elite, making sure they aren’t holding back what’s rightfully someone else’s, and making sure the cosmic scales are equal my friend. You screw it up, you gotta face the music. You do wrong, and you gotta pay the price!”

“…Dad didn’t think so.” Varian said softly, and earning looks of surprise from everyone as he uttered those words.

[“…It would’ve been me you know…It should’ve been me. But Dad pushed me right out of the way before it happened, and now…”]

“If…if we all got what we deserve,” Varian continued, his voice shaky, and his knuckles turning white underneath his gloves as he gripped the handle of the sword harder, “If we all have to face what we did, I…I wouldn’t even be here right now. But Dad, he…he…”

It was all that Varian could do to hold back his tears again, though he felt as if he had no strength left to resist as Arianna slowly approached and placed a hand tentatively on his shoulder. She was very uncertain as she attempted this action. She didn’t know if it would infuriate Varian, or if he would just shrug her off in indignation. But he didn’t do either of those things. Instead, he just stood there, staring blankly down at his sword as the moonlight glinted off of it, seeming to be barely aware of Arianna’s touch.

“So, you’re saying you’re fine with everyone who wronged you getting off scot-free, is that it?” the man questioned harshly.

“NO! I don’t mean that! I mean…” Varian stammered. “I- I…I don’t…I don’t know. I don’t know what I want!”

“It appears things are even worse than I thought,” the man said, pinching the bridge of his nose as both Varian and Arianna looking up sharply at him. “They’ve made you both spineless and heartless. Figures. That’s what they do to everyone who listens to them. Tell me, boy, why are you here now and not in Old Corona trying to free your father at this very hour?”

Varian’s blood simultaneously ran cold and boiled as he listened to these words. “Wh-what do you mean?” Varian asked tersely.

“Just seems strange to me,” the man continued on with a casual shrug. “If you love your father as much as you claim to, why did you not make all haste to Old Corona when you had the chance instead of coming here to rescue an old man you’ve known for but a couple of months?”

“HOW DARE YOU!?” Arianna shouted, lifting her hand from Varian’s shoulder and setting it to her bow again, standing so that she was now between Varian and the Saporian agent with Varian having to look over her shoulder to see what was happening. “You have no right to say such things to him!”

“Perhaps you are right about that, your majesty” the Saporian agent replied calmly, crossing his arms in front of him. “But I suppose it’s only natural for someone to feel concerned when they see someone get so brainwashed as to neglect the wellbeing of his own kindred in favor of those whose only kind deed to him was to give him tea and cookies for a few weeks.”

“A whole lot you care!” Varian now growled from behind Arianna, though still feeling a cold jab of doubt as the thought began to sink in further, cutting into his tender wounds like a cold, steel knife. “B-besides, Old Corona is under tight guard. If I had gone alone, I-I would never have been able to-”

“Oh, don’t try to give that excuse boy. If you were confident enough to believe you could take on us with your brains and bag of tricks, surely you would’ve been able to get through the guards at Old Corona and to your father without any trouble. But why didn’t you? I’ll tell you why. It was because you’d barely even thought of that being an option up until now, haven’t you? Your captors have got you so on their lead and into their way of thinking that you can’t even think for yourself anymore. And what would your father think if he knew? What would he think if he knew you had the means to free him, but you didn’t? How disgraceful! Instead of saving him, you went running in a totally different direction, leaving him longer to die because you-”

But the agent had said too much this time, and the scales tipped rapidly in the other direction.

“YOU SHUT UP!” Varian now cried, pushing passed Arianna (now standing side-by-side with her again) and pointing his sword hard at the agent. “What do you know anyway, huh!? You don’t know my dad! You don’t know anything! He…” Varian swallowed hard, remembering again that feeling of his father shoving him out of the way as the amber crystals shot out towards him, and the way he’d looked at Varian as he told him to stand back as they encased his form.

“…He wouldn’t have wanted me to abandon Xavier!” Varian continued boldly, aware now that for the first time since Dad’s encasement, he was actually considering what Dad would’ve really wanted of him – remembering back to his dad being a village leader, of being selfless, of being a hero. “If he w-were here, he’d probably have come himself. And-and it’s not like you’re any better than everyone else you know! I would’ve already been to Old Corona and have tried freeing him by now if you hadn’t attacked, taken Xavier, and ruined everything!” Varian now couldn’t stop the tears as they streamed down his cheeks at the thought, but he didn’t stop yelling as he felt them fall. “You don’t care. You just want to use me too like everyone else, don’t you!? How do I know I won’t be the next one you stab in the back once I’m useless to you!?”

Here, a couple of the agents tried to shift themselves in front of the unconscious body of the commander. Varian quickly swiped a hand across his face to clear his vision.

“I refuse to be played by you anymore, and I’m done talking. I don’t know what I gotta do for justice, but I know it’s gonna be nothing to do with you. I…I have others who can help me with that.” Here Varian risked a quick glance at Xavier before fixing his eyes back on the male agent. “Now, hand over Xavier like we agreed, and I’ll give you the formula. We’re done here.”

Arianna was just about as stunned at Varian’s whole outburst as everyone else. It had been clear that Varian had found the offer of joining a rebel faction and enacting justice on Corona to be very tempting, and Arianna was certain that if he had been presented with the offer not too long ago, he wouldn’t have thought twice about taking it. But now? Well…apparently, things were different now, and Arianna would be sure to have a long talk with Frederic about it once they got back home.

Taking her own steadying breath, Arianna now made to step forward. “This really will be your last chance. Hand over Xavier, now.”

Here, the male agent only let out a long sigh through his nose, eyes shut, appearing to be holding in an outburst of temper. But finally, a small smile crept its way back onto his face, and he looked back up again to face the queen, Varian, and Ruddiger, all waiting for his response.

“I am sorry boy,” he began again. “But I’m afraid the formula on its own would be useless to us for some time before we could understand it, and we cannot pass up the opportunity of having our own master weapons manufacturer and Corona’s own lady queen as our prisoners.” The male agent now shouted over his shoulder to the others. “To the ready now, all of you!”

At this, all the agents now unsheathed and held up their weapons again, and Arianna and Varian both started back in alarm, with Ruddiger letting off a loud growl from behind them.

“What!? But you said-!” Arianna gasped as she held out an arm protectively in front of Varian.

“Oh please, this is war your majesty! Did you honestly expect us to back down nicely? And dear boy, I am sorry about this. Truly. We had hoped you would see obvious sense and come to our side willingly, but it appears you’ve spent too much time in the enemy’s camp. But don’t worry. You’ll come round soon enough once we put you to work in our campaign. Oh, and your attack animal? I do know that he only has so much time before he turns defenseless again. I knew if I couldn’t convince you to join us, I could at least stall for time and strengthen our odds of winning a fight. I’d suspect he has about a minute left before he turns back again, wouldn’t you say?”

Varian clenched his teeth hard, and his blood boiled within him. “You…you SCUMBAG!” Varian shouted, infuriated at being toyed with and outsmarted by the man, and feeling personally violated at having his emotions and motives being used for that purpose so insensitively like that.

“I am sorry. But you played your own cards well Varian. I’m impressed. It was truly a delight to have you as an opponent. But no more. All of you! Attack!”

“NOW!” Varian shouted his own command as he quickly swiped a handful of vials from his pack, chucking them hard forward as Arianna also let fly an arrow from her bow, and Ruddiger dashed forward with a great, loud roar of rage.

The battle had begun, and there was no turning back now.

For those of you who caught it, congratulations! Sabine's Safe House was largely inspired by Howl's Moving Castle! Other details about her house (and her magic) will be further explored later on in following chapters, so stay tuned!

Some of the dialogue in this chapter was also inspired by the song "Where is the Justice?" from the Death Note musical (sung by Jeremy Jordan, Varian's English voice actor!), and from the confrontation scene between Diggory and Queen Jadis from 'The Magician's Nephew' by C. S. Lewis. (Hopefully the idea of his characters' dialogue influencing fan fiction isn't causing Mr. Lewis to spin too much in his grave, and hopefully I "did it justice". :D ...I'll see myself out.)

"Where is the Justice?" song (Warning for younger readers: some mild profanity in the lyrics) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL2f44geLz4

#tts #rta #tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure #fan fiction #gauze in the wound #long post #varian #xavier the blacksmith #queen arianna #ruddiger #rudiger #battle!ruddiger #beast!ruddiger #the separatists of saporia

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